Benchmark indices hit new high ahead of Christmas weekend

Riding on Asian optimism of steady revival in the US economy, Indian equity indices extended gains led by Infosys, SBI, ICICI Bank and TCS.

The 30-share Sensex closed 184.02 points higher at 33,940.30 or up 0.55%, while Nifty closed at 10,493, up 0.50%. 

The Sensex has gained 7,309.07 points or 27.45 per cent so far this year. The index had hit an all-time high of 33,956.31 on December 20 this year.
 
A strong rally in the auto, banking and capital goods sector stocks propelled the total market capitalisation (m-cap) of the BSE-listed companies a new high, crossing Rs 150 lakh crore mark today.
 
All sectoral indices performed well. The Sensex had lost 80 points in the past two sessions. In the wake of upbeat US economic data triggered fresh spell of buying, an analyst said.
 
L&T, Bharti Airtel, Tata Motors, ONGC, M&M and Adani Ports were the star performers.
 
RIL is the country's most valued firm with a market capitalisation of Rs 5,81,352.29 crore followed by TCS (Rs 5,07,860.50 crore), HDFC Bank (Rs 4,83,838.59 crore), ITC (Rs 3,21,098.35 crore) and HUL (Rs 2,93,135.33 crore).
 
The BSE Smallcap and Midcap indices extended gains for the sixth consecutive session today, following the market momentum. The Smallcap index hit fresh record high of 19053, while midcap index hit the high of 17653.68.
 
Shares of D B Realty (+20%), IVRCL (+9.90%), 63 Moons Technologies (+9.07%), Hindustan Construction Company (+7.83 %) and NACL Industries (+9.52%) were the top performers.
 
Shares of Ricoh India (-4.99 %) , Bombay Rayon Fashions (-4.97 % ), IFCI (4.70 %) and Seamec (-5 %) declined.
 
In the Midcap space, Adani Power (7.42), Reliance Infrastructure (5%), MRF (2.83%) and Larsen & Toubro Infotech (2.91%) helped the index stay at the elevated level.
 
In the Nifty index, 29 stocks advanced, 20 declined and 1 remained unchanged at closing.

Tata Motors, Tata Consultancy Services, YES Bank, ITC and Reliance Industries were the growth drivers in the Sensex. Lupin, UltraTech Cement, DrReddy's, Coal India, Tata Steel were the laggards on the BSE.
 
In the information technology sector, Infosys led the rally rising as much as 2.23% to Rs1,044.80, its highest since October 20, 2016.