FINAL TRADE: Market rally continues for 5th day; Nifty ends at 21,778.7, Sensex settles 372 pts higher

Stock market today: The headline indices ended yet another session at fresh closing peaks on Thursday, December 28, thereby continuing their rally for the fifth straight session as bulls continued to dominate D-Street.

The Nifty50 index ended 123.95 points, or 0.57 per cent, higher at 21,778.7, and the Sensex settled the day at 72,410.38, up 371.95 points, or 0.52 per cent, both record closing highs, after each staged a spectacular rally to life-time highs during the session. Besides, the 50-scrip barometer crossed the 21,800 mark for the first time in intraday trade.

The high-beta Nifty Bank index, whose 12 constituents include SBI, HDFC Bank, and ICICI Bank, ended the day 226.35 points, or 0.47 per cent, higher at a record level of 48,508.55.

The more domestically focused Nifty small-cap 100 and Nifty mid-cap 100 ended with gains of 0.79 and 0.56 per cent higher, respectively. Coal India, NTPC, M&M, and Hero MotoCorp were among the top gainers in the Nifty basket, trading with gains of around 4–3 per cent.

On the other hand, Adani Enterprises, L&T, Eicher Motors, and LTIMindtree were among the top losers.

"The benchmark index maintained its optimism and hit a fresh high owing to ease in the Red Sea issue and reversal of FII inflows," Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, said.

"A decline in crude oil prices below $80 prompted widespread purchasing across oil and energy companies. The Asian market also advanced due to the expectation of more aggressive rate cuts by the Fed next year. While the global market was largely experiencing consolidation due to valuation concerns," Nair added.

Global Market

European shares rose on Thursday, with miners and insurers leading the charge as markets looked set to finish the year strong amid persisting hopes that major global central banks could cut borrowing costs next year.

The pan-European STOXX 600 added 0.3 per cent, hovering near its 23-month high hit two weeks ago. Basic resources, which houses Europe's major mining firms, led gains early on, rising 0.7 per cent, clocking its third straight day of gains, while the insurance sector added 0.5 per cent.

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