Sensex, Nifty Hit Record Highs; Hindalco, Maruti Gain

MUMBAI: Benchmark equity indices — Sensex and Nifty — touched new records on morning, led by gains in healthcare, banking and consumer durables companies.

The 30-share bellwether BSE Sensex touched an all-time high of 26,561.65 points while the National Stock Exchange’s (NSE’s) broader 50-share Nifty hit a record 7,945.25 points. At 9.36am, the Sensex was trading higher by 0.50 percent, or 133.13 points, at 26,552.68 points, while the Nifty was trading up 0.40 percent, or 31.45 points, at 7,944.65 points.

The gainers included Hindalco Industries Ltd, which was up 1.4 percent to Rs.184.50 and Maruti Suzuki India Ltd which rose 1.12 percent  to Rs.2,786. Among the losers, Infosys Ltd fell 0.9 percent  to Rs.3,569.95 while HDFC Bank Ltd fell 0.5 percent  to Rs.843.25.

All sectoral indices were trading higher. The BSE healthcare index was the top sectoral gainer, up 0.8%. The BSE oil and gas index was up 0.7 percent.

The BSE capital goods, auto and Bankex indices were up 0.5 percent each. Jet Airways Ltd was trading at Rs.233.85 on BSE, down 4.4 percent  from its previous close. On, ratings agency Icra had downgraded its debt rating from “BB” to “D”, citing delays in servicing debt.

According to Icra’s rating scales, a “D” rating denotes debt in default or close to default. SpiceJet Ltd fell 5% to Rs.14.04 after PTI reported that the airline is under the tax scanner for suspected violations of tax deducted at source and distribution of Form-16 to its employees.