Markets hit fresh all-time highs; rally for 5th day

Benchmark indices ended at fresh lifetime highs on Monday amid foreign fund inflows, a decline in crude oil prices and buying in index major Reliance Industries.

Rallying for the fifth day in a row, the 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 211.16 points or 0.34 per cent to settle at 62,504.80, its fresh record closing high. During the day, it jumped 407.76 points or 0.65 per cent to its lifetime intra-day peak of 62,701.40.

The broader NSE Nifty gained 50 points or 0.27 per cent to end at 18,562.75, its record closing high.

Among the Sensex pack, Reliance Industries jumped the most by 3.48 per cent, followed by Nestle, Asian Paints, Bajaj Finserv, Wipro, ICICI Bank and IndusInd Bank.

Tata Steel, HDFC Bank, Bharti Airtel, HDFC and Mahindra & Mahindra were among the laggards.

Elsewhere in Asia, markets in Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong ended lower.

Equity exchanges in Europe were trading in the negative territory in the afternoon trade. Wall Street had ended mostly lower on Friday.

International oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 3.11 per cent lower at USD 81.03 per barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought shares worth Rs 369.08 crore on Friday, as per exchange data.