Sensex hits record high, Nifty reclaims 9,500 ahead of May F&O expiry

The broader market snapped six-session losing streak to gain 0.9% and 1.5%, respectively

The S&P BSE Sensex hits its record high in late afternoon deals as traders seemed to have been covering their short positions before expiry of the May series of derivative contracts due later today. 

Asian markets hitting their two-year highs after the US Federal Reserve signalled a more cautious approach to future rate hikes, also contributed to the gains. 

At 3:06 pm, the S&P BSE Sensex was trading at 30,756, up 455 points, while the broader Nifty50 was ruling at 9,512, up 152 points. 

The broader market snapped six-session losing streak to gain 1.5% and 2%, respectively. 

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. On BSE, 1,790 shares rose and 821 shares fell. A total of 146 shares were unchanged.

Nifty Bank hit its record high, vaulting over 500 points to reclaim its 23,000 mark, led by gains in ICICI Bank, YES Bank and IndusInd Bank. 

ICICI Bank and YES Bank were also the best-performing stocks on Nifty after Larsen & Toubro, which topped the index with over 4% gains. 

Lupin hogged the limelight with the stock hitting its lowest level since August 2014 after the company’s quarterly net profit nearly halved to Rs 380 crore in March quarter (Q4FY17) from a year ago. The stock shed over 9% to Rs 1,108.

Dish TV slipped 11% to Rs 81.30 after the company reported a net loss of Rs 28 crore in March quarter due to a fall in subscription revenue.

Among gainers, Infosys rose as much as 2% after the IT services exporter touted its strategy to hire and train 10,000 American workers over the next two years.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) also moved higher by 2% to Rs 2,612 in intra-day trade, extending its Wednesday’s 1.5% gain on the BSE.

Kesar Enterprises is locked in upper circuit for the fourth straight trading day, up 10% at Rs 112, also its fresh 52-week high on BSE, after the company reported a strong set of numbers in March quarter (Q4FY17).

In past four trading days, the stock zoomed 90% as compared to 0.56% decline in the S&P BSE Sensex.

Overseas, Asian markets scaled two-year highs after the US Federal Reserve signalled a cautious approach to future rate hikes and the reduction of its $4.5 trillion of bond holdings. Investors also looked ahead to an OPEC gathering widely expected to extend output cuts.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan advanced 1%, hitting its highest level since May 2015, and bringing its gains so far this year to about 17%.

The gains were led by South Korean shares, which rose 1% to record highs. Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.8% to its highest level since July 2015 while Taiwanese shares hit 17-year highs.

In Japan, Nikkei gained 0.5%.