Nifty ends above 8,500 first time ever; Infosys leads

IT, banks and metal scrips among the top gainers for the day

Markets started the week on a thumping note as the benchmark shares continued their winning streak to end at record closing highs with the Nifty closing above 8,500 for the first time ever.

The Sensex ended up 165 points at 28,499 and the 50-share Nifty ended up 53 points at 8,530. Infosys and ICICI Bank alone contributed to nearly 120 point gain seen on the Sensex.

Meanwhile, Sensex and Nifty registered an all-time high of 28,542 and 8,535, respectively in intra-day trades.

In the broader markets, the mid and smallcap indices ended up 0.3% each, underperforming the BSE benchmark index which gained 0.5%.

Further, the Reserve Bank of India will release the current account deficit data for the second quarter later today.

On the sectoral front, defensives like FMCG and Health Care indices were in red, down 0.2% and 0.4% respectively along with Oil & Gas index down 0.7%.

Among the ones in green were bankex, IT, Metal, Realty and Teck indices up 1-2%.

Consumer Durables and Capital Goods indices up 0.8% each were the other notable gainers.

Banking stocks continued their rally on the bourses, with the market value of the ICICI Bank, crossing the Rs two lakh crore mark. The private sector lender has become the third bank and ninth company in current list of companies having m-cap of over Rs 200,000 crore. The stock was up 2.2%.

HDFC Bank, SBI, Axis Bank gained 0.2-1.3% were the other gainers from the financial space.

Shares of metal companies are trading higher by up to 3.5% following the unexpected rate cut by China. China has cut benchmark interest rates for the first time since July 2012 as leaders step up support for the world's second-largest economy.

Hindalco, Tata Steel, JSW Steel, Jindla Steel and SAIL were up 2.7-4.3%.

From the oil and Gas space, RIL and ONGC were down nearly a percent each. In the international market, brent crude futures rose above $80.50 a barrel ahead of an   OPEC meeting at which an output cut will be discussed.

IT space got a sentiment facelift as Infosys gained 3% after the company said it has fixed record date as December 3, 2014 for the purpose of allotment of bonus shares/stock dividend.  TCS and Wipro followed with a 1% gain each.

FMCG players like ITC and HUL were subdued, down 0.5% each.

Auto space was mixed. Tata Motors and Bajaj Auto were flat to negative while Hero MotoCorp was up 1.5%.

Tata Power, BHEL up 4% and 2% were the other notable gainers.

Pharma names like Cipla, Sun Pharma and Dr Reddys closed down 0.1-1.5%.

Buzzing Stocks

TV Today Network gained 12% to Rs 217 after a multiple block deals executed on the counter on the BSE and NSE.

Steel Strips Wheels was up nearly 19% at Rs 341 on back of heavy volumes. According to disclosure made to stock exchanges, Steel Strips Wheels said that Priya Garg, one of the promoters purchased 3,370 equity shares of the company through open market on Friday, November 21, 2014.

Atul Auto surged 4% to Rs 418 after Birla Mutual Fund bought shares of the company through a bulk deal on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Global Offshore Services soared 7% to Rs 584 on heavy volumes after the company said its subsidiary firm has taken delivery of platform supply vessel.

Rajesh Exports edged higher by  3.6% to Rs 169, extending its Friday’s 4.5% surge on BSE, after the company said it has bagged an export order worth Rs 1,350 crore of designer range of gold and diamond studded jewellery and medallions from M/s Al Sultan Jewellery, UAE.

Crompton Greaves and Adani Power were trading higher by 4.5% and 2.5% after the Adani Power signed memorandum of understanding to acquire Avantha group's Korba West Power.

Rupee

The Rupee was trading at 61.93 versus its Friday's close of 61.76. Traders say good demand for the dollar from state-run banks offsetting foreign fund inflows.

Global Markets

Asian share markets were higher as hopes of further policy stimulus in China and Europe whetted risk appetites while sending the euro skidding. Hang Seng and Shaghai Composite up 2% was the top gainers. However, Straits Times was the only exception trending down 0.1%.

Following Asian cues, European markets opened higher with CAC, DAX and FTSE up 0.03-0.9%.