Indices end at yet another peak, Sensex up 315 pts; BSE Midcap outperforms

The bulls continued to maintain their firm grip on Tuesday as the benchmark indices gained over 0.7 per cent to settle at record highs, led by buying in financial counters. The S&P BSE Sensex ended the day at 43,953, up 315 points, or 0.72 per cent while Nifty settled at 12,874, up 94 points, or 0.74 per cent. In the early deals, Sensex briefly touched the crucial 44,000-mark before retreating later. 

With today's rally, the market capitalisation (m-cap) of BSE-listed companies crossed Rs 170 trillion to Rs 170.59 trillion. 

Volatility index, India VIX, gained 3.5 per cent to 19.8 levels. 

Meanwhile, the broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE MidCap index rallied over 1 per cent 16,147 levels while the S&P BSE SmallCap index ended 0.88 per cent higher at 15,910 levels. 

On the sectoral front, banks and metal stocks logged stellar gains. The Nifty Bank rallied 587 points, or 2 per cent to 29,181.30 levels while Nifty Metal surged 2.5 per cent to 2,761 levels. 

Asian stocks held gains and moved tentatively further into record territory on Tuesday, after US benchmarks were pepped up by news of another promising coronavirus vaccine. 

In Europe, stocks eased from eight-month highs as tighter coronavirus-driven restrictions across the continent hit travel stocks, halting a broader rally that was powered by encouraging Covid-19 vaccine news.

In commodities, oil prices edged up on expectations OPEC and its allies will extend oil production cuts for at least three months, while sentiment was bolstered by news of another promising coronavirus vaccine. 

(With inputs from Reuters)