Sensex, Nifty scale new peaks as Feb series turns bullish

Mumbai: The BSE Sensex today soared about 307 points to scale a new peak of 36,356.99 points in opening session as participants widened their bets following beginning of the February series in the derivatives segment.

The broader NSE Nifty also soared to a new high of 11,146.55 by surging 76.90 points or 0.69 per cent. It smashed its previous intra-day record of 11,110.10 hit on January 24. Optimistic buying activity ahead of the Economic Survey due today and the Union budget on February 1 also buoyed the trading sentiment.

Markets were closed on Friday on account of the ‘Republic Day’. The 30-share Sensex gained 306.55 points, or 0.85 per cent, to touch an all-time high of 36,356.99, breaching its previous record of 36,268.19 (intra-day) reached on January 24. Big gainers that lifted the key indices to new highs included Maruti Suzuki, TCS, Tata Steel, HDFC Ltd, M&M, L&T, Kotak Bank and Tata Motors, surging up to 3.42 per cent.

All the sectoral indices, led by metal, auto and capital goods were trading in the positive zone with gains of up to 1.58 per cent. Foreign funds bought sharers worth Rs 937.31 crore on Thursday, as per provisional data. Sentiment was upbeat as investors were seen enlarging their portfolios ahead of the Economic Survey due today and the Union budget on February 1, brokers said. A mixed trend at other Asian bourses and a record closing at Wall Street on Friday bolstered the sentiment.

In the Asian region, Japan’s Nikkei was up 0.50 per cent, while Hong Kng’s Hang Seng fell 0.24 per cent in early deals. The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended at new high by surging 0.85 per cent on Friday.