An evening walk down Dalal Street

Positive global cues, a recovery in rupee along with a rally in banks and index heavyweights helped the market kick off the week on a very strong note. Both indices managed to end at record closing highs.

The Nifty managed to hit 11,500 for the first time ever and has ended above 11,550-mark, while the Sensex comfortably traded above 38,000-mark. Strong cues dominated the activity on D-Street through the day and marginally off the high point of the day.

Midcaps, too, had a good trading day, ending almost a percent higher as investors rushed to park funds in this space as well.

Meanwhile, the Indian currency managed to end below 70-mark, touching lows of around 69.59 to the dollar, before trading around 69.8-levles.

The day began on a strong note as indices clinched fresh records in the opening minutes. A further rally among banks, infra and pharma names helped the market stay above crucial milestones. The only laggard for the Street was the IT index, which took a hit after Infosys’ shares fell, following its CFO’s abrupt resignation.

At the close of market hours, Sensex closed up 330.87 points or 0.87% at 38278.75, and the Nifty ended higher by 81.00 points or 0.71% at 11551.80. The market breadth is positive as 1,455 shares advanced, against a decline of 1,280 shares, while 190 shares were unchanged.

Among stocks, L&T and Tata Motors were the top gainers, while Infosys, Maruti Suzuki, and GAIL were the top losers.