Sensex hits fresh closing high, Nifty ends at 11,084; Vedanta, Adani Ports top gainers

The benchmark Sensex rallied to a fresh life-time high of 36,749.69 before settling at 36,718.60 -- its record closing level too -- on the back of strong gains in banking and FMCG stocks after the GST Council reduced rates on a number of products. The 30-share index rose by 222.23 points or 0.61 per cent to end at a record high of 36,718.60 even as most of its Asian peers declined amid growing fears of trade and currency wars. 

The Sensex opened higher at 36,501.05 and gathered momentum on massive buying to hit an all-time intra-day high of 36,749.69 as FMCG major ITC, Hindustan Unilever and Asian Paints rallied. 

Live updates:

12) Markets at close

The Sensex ended at 36,718, up 222.23 points, while the broader Nifty50 settled at 11,084, up 74.55 points. In the broader market, the BSE Midcap and the BSE Smallcap indices outperformed to gain 1.3 per cent and 0.9 per cent, respectively. 

11) HDFC AMC IPO to kick off on Wednesday: Here are 10 key things to know

HDFC Asset Management Company (AMC) will launch its initial public offering on Wednesday to raise Rs 2,800 crore. The proposed IPO offers up to 2.54 crore equity shares of the fund house through an offer for sale of 85.92 lakh shares (4.08 per cent stake) by HDFC and up to 1.68 crore shares (7.95 per cent holding) by Standard Life.

10) Wipro share price tanks whopping 7% post Q1FY19 results; should you sell?

Wipro share price tanked a whopping 7 per cent on Monday even as country's third largest software services firm beat Street estimates in its June quarter results. Wipro on Friday posted over 2 per cent increase in consolidated net profit at Rs 2,120.8 crore for the June 2018 quarter. The net profit, attributable to shareholders, in the year-ago period stood at Rs 2,076.7 crore. Reacting to its numbers, Wipro share prices tanked as much as 6.76 per cent to Rs 263.90 on the BSE. 

9) Market update: ITC, which contributed most to the gains in the broader NSE index, rose as much as 4.6 per cent to its highest since Feb. 1. Hindustan Unilever Ltd rose 2 per cent. Following a series of volatile sessions last week, analysts say markets could finally see some consolidation after the Modi government defeated a no-confidence vote in the parliament on Friday.

8) Sensex heatmap

Source: BSE

7) Market breadth turns positive: Market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, turned positive. On the BSE, 782 stocks rallied, 393 stocks declined, while 52 stocks remained unchanged. 

6) Broader markets: In the broader market, the BSE Midcap and the BSE Smallcap indices added 0.8 per cent and 0.4 per cent, respectively.

5) Markets at open: At 9:20 am, the Sensex was trading at 36,553, up 56.94 points, while the broader Nifty50 was ruling at 11,036, up 26.65 points.

4) United Spirits, Dr Reddy's among top intraday trading ideas for today

Target: Rs 2100
Stoploss: Rs 2030

• The pharma major expected to report good results on July 26
• The stock quiting at cheap valuations after steep fall

3) HDFC Bank, SpiceJet among five stocks in limelight today

SpiceJet: An arbitration tribunal has rejected the Rs 1,323-crore damages claim from Spicejet and a bid to take control of the airline by its previous owner Kalanithi Maran and his company Kal Airways, after a bitter share transfer dispute. The Delhi-based low-cost carrier has informed the exchanges that on July 20, an arbitration tribunal rejected Maran's claim of damages of Rs 1,323 crore for not issuing convertible warrants and preference shares to him and Kal Airways.

2) Asian markets ease, dollar near two-week lows on Donald Trump comments

Asian stocks took Wall Street`s cue on Monday with MSCI`s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan falling 0.2 percent. Japan`s Nikkei stumbled 1.4 percent, Australian shares and South Korea`s KOSPI index fell 0.9 percent each. Chinese shares also opened lower but quickly reversed their losses, with both the blue-chip index and Shanghai`s SSE Composite up a touch.

1) Markets on Friday

The Sensex and Nifty ended higher on Friday, but finished marginally lower for the week, helped by gains in IT stocks such as Infosys on a weaker rupee, while investors awaited the outcome of a no-confidence motion against the government. The Sensex rose 145.14 points to end at 36,496.37, while the broader Nifty50 was up 53.10 points to close at 11,010.20. For the week, the NSE index ended 0.08 per cent lower, while the BSE index slipped 0.12 per cent. It was the first weekly loss in three weeks for Sensex and Nifty.  

Infosys ended 2.4 per cent higher at Rs 1348.35 on the BSE. Shares in energy and financial sectors also advanced, with Reliance Industries ending up 2.2 per cent, while Bajaj Finance finished 8 per cent higher.