Infra plan spurs key indices to new peaks

Mumbai: Equity gauges Sensex and Nifty on Wednesday climbed to new record highs, stretching their winning run to the fifth consecutive session, as investors continued to lap up auto, power and infra shares. After scaling a lifetime intraday high of 60,836.63 during the session, the 30-share Sensex settled 452.74 points or 0.75 per cent higher at 60,737.05 - its all-time closing high. Similarly, the Nifty rallied 169.80 points or 0.94 per cent to a new closing peak of 18,161.75. It also touched an intra-day record of 18,197.80. The key indices tracked gains in index heavyweights Reliance Industries, ITC and Infosys amid a positive trend in global markets. Wipro shares rose Rs13.50 or 2.05 per cent and closed at Rs672.55 on BSE. Infosys stock moved up by Rs23.95 or 1.42 per cent to Rs1,708.75. M&M was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, zooming over 5 per cent, followed by PowerGrid, ITC, L&T, Tech Mahindra, Tata Steel and Titan. On the other hand, Maruti Suzuki, HUL, Nestle India, Axis Bank and SBI were among the laggards. Sectorally, BSE auto, utilities, momentum, industrials and power indices rallied up to 3.46 per cent, while realty index ended in the red. Broader midcap and smallcap indices surged up to 1.56 per cent.

"Auto stocks led by Tata Motors propelled the Nifty to new highs of 18,200 with good support from infra and metal stocks on the launch of the Master Plan for Infrastructure Development and Multi-Modal Connectivity. As the street awaits earnings today from big IT names, Tata Group stocks hogged the limelight despite profit-taking in late afternoon trade," said S Ranganathan, head (research) at LKP securities.