Sensex crosses 64,000-mark for first time; Nifty scales 19,000-peak in intra-day trade.

Mumbai: Benchmark equity indices hit their lifetime high levels on Wednesday, with the Sensex reaching the record 64,000-mark and the Nifty scaling the 19,000 level in intra-day trade, propelled by fresh foreign fund inflows and a rally in the US and European markets. Buying in market heavyweight stocks like Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank added to the positive momentum.

Extending the previous day's rally, the 30-share BSE Sensex surged 499.39 points or 0.79 per cent to settle at its life time closing high of 63,915.42 points. During the day, the index jumped 634.41 points or 1 per cent to hit its all-time intra-day peak of 64,050.44 points. The NSE Nifty climbed 154.70 points or 0.82 per cent to end at a record high of 18,972.10 points.

During the day, it zoomed 193.85 points or 1 per cent to reach its lifetime intra-day high of 19,011.25 points. From the Sensex pack, Tata Motors, Sun Pharma, Titan, Larsen & Toubro, IndusInd Bank, Reliance Industries, NTPC, UltraTech Cement, Bajaj Finance, Infosys, HDFC Bank and Maruti were among the major gainers. Tech Mahindra, Mahindra & Mahindra, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bajaj Finserv, HCL Technologies and Wipro were the laggards. "After almost a seven-month consolidation, the Nifty has surpassed the 19,000 mark and what's more, all sectors are in the green as well. Investors are massively turning positive on risk assets, taking comfort from the recent fall in inflation, anticipating the end of the rate hike cycle," Amar Ambani, Group President & Head - Institutional Equities at YES SECURITIES, said.

In Asian markets, Tokyo and Hong Kong settled in the green while Seoul and Shanghai ended lower. European markets were trading in the positive territory. The US markets ended significantly higher on Tuesday. Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.83 per cent to USD 72.86 a barrel. "After multiple attempts, the domestic market successfully managed to sustain record high levels, thanks to the increased buying interest in heavyweight stocks.

"The market's bullish momentum was further supported by strong FII inflows and a narrowing current account deficit, both of which positively impacted investor sentiments. The gains were widespread, with the pharma and metal sectors leading the way as top performers, outshining other sectors," Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, said. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 2,024.05 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data. The BSE benchmark jumped 446.03 points or 0.71 per cent to settle at 63,416.03 points on Tuesday. The Nifty climbed 126.20 points or 0.68 per cent to end at 18,817.40 points