Equity indices hit record highs, Nifty closes at 11,787

Equity benchmark indices extended morning gains on Tuesday and touched new milestones during the last trading hours amid sustained buying from foreign investors.

Most sectoral indices were in the green led by banking and financial services as investors remained optimistic over upcoming corporate earnings for the final quarter of 2018-19.

The S & P BSE Sensex hit a new peak of 39,364.34 but settled at 39,276 when the closing bell rang, up 370 points. The Nifty 50 touched a high of 11,810.95 and settled at 11,787, up 97 points.

IndusInd Bank, ICICI Bank, Titan, Hindalco and Asian Paints were among the prominent gainers at National Stock Exchange.

SpiceJet gained 11 per cent after the announcement that it will add five 90-seater Bombardier Q400s to expand network and increase seat capacity.

On the flip side, Wipro, Tata Motors, Bharti Airtel, Infosys and Cipla were among the losers.

Jet Airways lost about 8 per cent as government-owned lenders were yet to come up with a plan (when the markets closed) for infusing fresh funds under a debt resolution plan.

Wipro fell as much as 2.45 per cent after reports that it is investigating a potential breach of some of its employee accounts due to an advanced phishing campaign.

On Monday, the Indian Meteorological Department had forecast near-normal rains for the monsoon season, lifting worries over the possibility of below-normal rainfall that private weather forecaster Skymet had predicted earlier.

Besides, the government said India's trade deficit narrowed to 10.89 billion dollars in March 2019 compared to 13.51 billion in March 2018 amid increased exports.

Meanwhile, shares in Asian markets traded on a positive note as investors weighed earnings in the United States and Japan.

The US-China trade dispute is showing signs of progress but a slowdown in global corporate earnings and bleak investment climate have put pressure on risk assets.