Equity benchmark indices traded at fresh lifetime highs during early hours on Monday due to firm global cues with banking and financial stocks witnessing handsome gains.
At 10:15 am, the BSE S&P Sensex was up by 477 points or 0.92 percent at 52,021 while the Nifty 50 ticked higher by 123 points or 0.81 percent to 15,286.
Sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were mixed with Nifty private bank up by 1.6 percent, PSU bank by 0.8, and financial service by 1.6 percent. But Nifty metal was down by 0.5 percent and pharma by 0.2 percent.
Among stocks, Axis Bank moved up by 2.2 percent to Rs 767.40 per share. IndusInd Bank edged higher by 2.1 percent, ICICI Bank by 1.7 percent, HDFC Bank by 1.5 percent, and Kotak Mahindra Bank by 1.3 percent.
State Bank of India was up by 1.4 percent to Rs 398.70 per share while Bajaj Finance ticked up by 1.4 percent and home loan lender HDFC by 2 percent.
Among the losers were SBI Life, Grasim, ONGC, GAIL, NTPC Coal India, Tata Steel, and Dr. Reddy’s.
Meanwhile, Asian shares advanced to record highs as successful coronavirus vaccine rollouts globally raise hopes of a rapid economic recovery amid new fiscal aid from Washington.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan jumped by 0.4 percent.
Japan’s Nikkei climbed by 1.3 percent despite data showing the country’s recovery from its worst postwar recession slowed in the fourth quarter.
