Stocks continued their record-setting run for the fourth straight session on Tuesday with both the Sensex and Nifty finishing at lifetime highs as investors cheered the early arrival of monsoon. The BSE Sensex gained over 50 points to end at a new peak of 31,159.40, while the broader Nifty spurted almost 20 points to finish at 9,624.55.
Monsoon rains hit Kerala and the North East on Tuesday, two days before the normal onset date, boosting optimism about a rebound in the rural economy. Recouping previous losses, healthcare emerged as the top performing sector as participants opted for value-buying.
The BSE 30-share Sensex resumed higher at 31,111.73 and weathered bouts of volatility to touch a new all-time intra- day high of 31,220.38, surpassing its previous record of 31,214.39, reached in yesterday's trade. It shed some gains on profit-booking and settled at 31,159.40, up 50.12 points, or 0.16 per cent. The Sensex surpassed its previous record closing of 31,109.28 hit on Monday. In four days, the index has gained 857.76 points. Similarly, the broader 50-issue NSE Nifty after shuttling between 9,635.30 and 9,581.20, settled at 9,624.55, up 19.65 points, or 0.20 per cent. It broke its previous record closing of 9,604.90, hit on Monday.
Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) have been on a robust buying spree, partly offsetting the capital outflows by foreign funds and discouraging results posted by some bluechips, brokers said. DIIs bought shares worth a net Rs 290.53 crore, while foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 709.97 crore yesterday, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.
