Nifty closes at new record high; RIL rallies 2.53 per cent

Final hour hectic buying in energy and banking counters helped the benchmark Nifty to rebound smartly from lows and close to a new record high at the National Stock Exchange (NSE) today.
On a day marked by high volatility, the 50-share index swung widely. A late buying in heavyweight Reliance Industries on expectation of gas price hike and also banking scrips lifted the index to a new peak.
Investor sentiment remains positive ahead of the Narendra Modi government's maiden Budget next week. Overnight record surge in US stocks also supported the Indian bourses.
Barring metals and some PSU banks, which witnessed profit booking, other sectors saw good buying. FMCG, pharma, infra, IT, realty and auto shares were in demand, while mid and small-cap shares also gained.

Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 950.82 crore yesterday, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.
Most of the Asian stocks ended higher.

The Nifty opened up at 7,718.10 and hit a high of 7,758.00 and a low of 7,661.30 before closing at 7,751.60, up 36.80 points, or 0.48 per cent, over its last close.
PowerGrid rallied 2.63 per cent, Reliance (2.53 per cent), HDFC Bank (2.37 per cent), Dr Reddy's (1.49 per cent) and GAIL (1.29 per cent).
Other notable gainers were DLF, NTPC, Infy, Asian Paints and BHEL.
Turnover in the cash segment dropped to Rs 16,394.21 crore from Rs 19,466.89 crore yesterday. A total of 9,965.26 lakh shares changed hands in 70,27,220 trades, while the market capitalisation stood at Rs 90,23,097 crore.