Markets: Sensex, Nifty touch record highs on fund inflows

Key indices on Monday touched lifetime high in opening trade on huge profits in IT and banking shares. The gains come ahead of the optimistic wave over quarterly earnings by profits.

The 30-share Sensex soared by 178 points, or 0.52 per cent, to 34,331.85 points, breaching its previous record high (intra-day) of 34,188.85 hit on January 5.

At 10:00 AM, Sensex was up by 195.96 to trade at 34,354.43 points while Nifty was trading up by 10,615.30.

All the sectoral indices, led by realty, healthcare and infrastructure were trading in the positive zone, rising up to 1.52 per cent Major gainers that helped both the key indices to scale new highs were Sun Pharma, Yes Bank, Dr Reddy's, L&T, Infosys, HDFC Ltd, Power Grid, ONGC, Coal India, ICICI Bank, Indusind Bank, Hero MotoCorp, Tata Steel and Tata Motors, gaining up to 3.72 per cent.

The 50-issue Nifty crossed the 10,600 level for the first time by gaining 46.95 points, or 0.44 per cent, to trade at an all-time high of 10,605.80 surpassing its previous intra-day high of 10,566.10 touched on January 5. Among 50 Nifty scrips, 42 were trading with gains, led by pharma stocks.

Asian shares crept toward all-time peaks on Monday after Wall Street boasted its best start to a year in over a decade, with brisk economic growth and benign inflation proving a potent cocktail for risk appetite.MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.1 percent having climbed 3.1 percent last week, its strongest performance in six months.

At 588.07 the index is within spitting distance of the record top of 591.50 hit in November 2007.

The Philippines is already at a record, while Australian stocks eked out another decade top. Japan's Nikkei was closed for a holiday but touched its highest since 1992 last week.

Meanwhile, the rupee strengthened by 11 paise to trade at 63.26 against the US dollar in opening session today on selling of the greenback by exporters and banks amid gains in stocks which scaled record levels.

Currency dealers said continued foreign fund inflows and weakness in the greenback against other currencies overseas supported the rupee.

Furthermore, a higher opening in the domestic equity market gave the uptrend some momentum, they added.

On Friday, the rupee ended at a 32-month high of 63.37, up 4 paise on steady unwinding of the American currency by exporters.

Bombay Stock Exchange - BSE

National Stock Exchange of India Ltd (NSE)