Benchmark indices hit all-time high levels yet again

Banking stocks pulled indices to all-time high levels on Tuesday

Market surged to new intra-day high levels on Tuesday after markets opened on a positive note following postive global cues.

Investors even as breathed easy as Ukraine concerns eased over the situation in Crimea even as the region voted in favor of quitting Ukraine.

At 9.48am, the 30-share Sensex is trading 211 points higher at 22021 levels after toching a new high of 22040.72. 

While the 50-share Nifty index was up 62 points higher at 6,565 levels at the time, it touched an all-time high level of of 6,574.95 in early trades.


Top gaining stocks at this hour include Reliance, ITC, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and SBI which are trading 1-7% higher at this hour.

Investors picked up banking stocks on Tuesday as heavyweight banking stocks rallied in early trades.

US stocks rose more than 1 percent on Monday, rebounding from a steep drop in the previous week as concerns eased over the situation in Crimea, even as the region voted to join Russia.

The 97-percent vote in Crimea in favor of quitting Ukraine was condemned as illegal by Kiev and the West, with the White House calling Russian actions "dangerous and destabilizing," though the referendum passed without violence.

In addition, while markets are considered to be vulnerable to further developments in what is considered the biggest crisis between Russia and the United States since the Cold War, anticipated sanctions against Russia have yet to materialize.

Asian shares rose on Tuesday and the yen remained well off recent highs as the threat of immediate military conflict in Ukraine receded, though investors remained cautious ahead of this week's US Federal Reserve policy meeting.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added about 0.3%.

On Wall Street on Monday, US stocks turned in a solid performance, with the S&P 500 adding about 1%.

The United States and the European Union imposed sanctions, including asset freezes and travel bans, on a small group of officials from Russia and Ukraine after the weekend referendum.

Japan's Nikkei stock average rose 1.1%, recovering from a six-week closing low hit on Monday.

For the time being, risk appetite improved as the likelihood of immediate military conflict faded, and market participants turned their attention back to the US economic outlook and the conclusion of the Fed's two-day meeting on Wednesday.

The Fed is expected to continue to stick to reducing its monthly asset purchases by an additional $10 billion, and could also alter its forward guidance in its statement.

Fed policymakers could adopt less specific language to describe conditions under which it might tighten policy, instead of the bank's current threshold of a 6.5% unemployment rate for considering a rate rise. The rate now stands at 6.7%, though Fed officials are still signalling that rates need to stay low for some time to support the economy.

The dollar was slightly higher on the day at 101.78 yen, while the euro added about 0.1% to 141.80 yen.

The euro edged up about 0.1% to $1.3932, within sight of a 2-1/2-year high around $1.3967 touched on Thursday.

The single currency's resilience was despite data on Monday showing a dip in euro zone inflation, the latest indicator to back the view that the European Central Bank needs to take further monetary steps to support growth.

The improvement in risk sentiment took a toll on gold, which hit a six-month high on Monday before plunging more than 1%. It was last down about 0.4% at $1,360.21 per ounce, well shy of the previous session's peak of $1,391.76.

US crude edged down 0.1% to $97.97 a barrel, falling for the second day in a row, as expectations of growing petroleum stockpiles in the world's biggest oil user offset any fears that Ukraine tensions could worsen.

Stocks to watch

L&T Finance Holdings: Share sale got oversubscribed today and the offer expected to mop up at least Rs 583 crore.

Maruti Suzuki: Agreed to seek the approval of minority shareholders for its plan to house the proposed Gujarat factory in a fully owned Suzuki subsidiary.

Infosys: Signed a multi-year contract with Volvo Car Corporation (Volvo Cars) to provide application development services to the latter’s global operations.

ONGC & RIL: The upstream regulator has backed ONGC’s demand for appointment of an international expert to assess if Reliance Industries Ltd was drawing out any of its gas in the KG basin.