India: Nifty, midcap index hit record highs

The 50-share National Stock Exchange Nifty hit a fresh record high, spurting 50.90 points to 9,268.85 in the morning trade on Tuesday, spurred by strong fundamentals of Indian economy, stability in global markets and huge gush of global liquidity.

The 30-share benchmark Bombay Stock Exchange Sensex gained 170.42 points at 29,826.26as sentiments rose with Reliance Industries' better-than-expected fourth quarter earnings numbers which were announced yesterday.

The midcap stocks did equally well, with the Nifty free float midcap index reaching a fresh high of 18,021.10. The BSE midcap index rose to a fresh record high to 14,723.94.

A firming trend in other Asian markets, taking strong cues from the US and European markets following Emmanuel Macron's first round presidential election win in France, also boosted trading sentiments.

Brokers said that continued buying by domestic institutional investors and retailers following Reliance Industry Limited's healthy numbers announced post trading hours yesterday, mainly lent momentum to trading activity.

RIL shares climbed 2.18 per cent, to Rs 1,447.30, in early trade after the company reported a 12.3 per cent jump in its January-March quarter net profit at Rs 8,046 crore on the back of higher refining and petrochemical margins.

Other gainers included M&M, Wipro, HDFC Ltd, L&T, ICICI Bank, Power Grid, Lupin and Dr Reddy's.

Globally, Japan's Nikkei was up 0.84 per cent while Hong Kong's Hang rose 0.98 per cent in early trade today. The Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.31 per cent.

The US Dow Jones Industrial Average had ended 1.05 per cent higher in yesterday's trade.

(WION with inputs from PTI)