Sensex crosses 64,000-mark for first time; Nifty scales 19,000-peak in intra-day trade

Benchmark equity indices hit their lifetime high levels on Wednesday, with the Sensex reaching the record 64,000-mark and the Nifty scaling the 19,000 level in intra-day trade, propelled by fresh foreign fund inflows and a rally in the US and European markets.

Buying in market heavyweight stocks like Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank added to the positive momentum.

Extending the previous day's rally, the 30-share BSE Sensex surged 499.39 points or 0.79 per cent to settle at its life time closing high of 63,915.42 points. During the day, the index jumped 634.41 points or 1 per cent to hit its all-time intra-day peak of 64,050.44 points.

The NSE Nifty climbed 154.70 points or 0.82 per cent to end at a record high of 18,972.10 points. During the day, it zoomed 193.85 points or 1 per cent to reach its lifetime intra-day high of 19,011.25 points.

From the Sensex pack, Tata Motors, Sun Pharma, Titan, Larsen & Toubro, IndusInd Bank, Reliance Industries, NTPC, UltraTech Cement, Bajaj Finance, Infosys, HDFC Bank and Maruti were among the major gainers.

Tech Mahindra, Mahindra & Mahindra, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bajaj Finserv, HCL Technologies and Wipro were the laggards.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 2,024.05 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.