Nifty hits 9,400 for first time ever, Sensex surges 300 pts on IMD forecast

Pharma, banks, and auto indices gained over half a percent, while IT was down by half a percent

Benchmark indices held on to their gains, with indices trading around their fresh high marks as IMD’s new monsoon forecast raised prospects of higher agricultural and economic growth, cheering the investors.
 
India is likely to receive higher monsoon rainfall than previously forecast as concern over the El Nino weather condition has eased, the chief of the weather office said on Tuesday. IMD earlier estimated this year's monsoon rains at 96% of the 50-year average of 89 cm.
 
Sentiment was also lifter by Asian stocks, which edged higher for a third consecutive day, as investors focused on strong corporate earnings and the dollar gave back some of its recent gains. MSCI's Asia ex Japan index rose 0.3% after posting modest gains in the previous session. It hit a two-year high last week.

The broader NSE index rose as much as 0.9% or 83 points to a record high of 9,400, surpassing its previous milestone of 9,377 recorded on May 5 while the 30-share Sensex rose as much as 313 points to its record high of 30,246. It had also hit its last record high of 30,176.55 on May 5.
 
At 3:04 pm, BSE Sensex was up 312 points at 30,244 while the broader Nifty50 was ruling 82 points higher at 9,399.
 
In broader markets, BSE Midcap and BSE Smallcap indices gained 0.8% each, in line with the benchmark indices.
 

Pharma, banks, and auto indices gained over half a percent on the Nifty, while the IT index was down by half a percent.
 
Hindustan Unilever, Bharti Airtel, HDFC and M&M were the top gainers, while Wipro, TCS, and GAIL and Infosys lost the most.
 
Shares of Petronet LNG rose 4.6% intraday on strong Q4 numbers and bonus declaration. The company's standalone Q4FY17 (Jan-March) net profit was up 18.4% at Rs 470.8 crore against Rs 397.5 crore, in the previous quarter.
 
Bharti Airtel rose 4.5% to Rs 360.90, marking their biggest intraday pct gain in over two months on subscriber additions and Africa business although it reported its smallest quarterly profit in over four years on Tuesday amid strong competition

 
IDBI Bank fell 3.3% after RBI initiated "prompt corrective action" (PCA) for the bank over its high bad loans and negative return on assets.
 
Shares of InterGlobe Aviation, owner of the country's largest airline, IndiGo, shed 3.4% after company’s posted nearly 25% fall in quarterly profit on Tuesday, hurt by rising fuel costs.