Nifty reaches record high

Mumbai: Stock markets closed higher for the fifth consecutive day on Monday with the benchmark Sensex rising 281 points and Nifty scaling its fresh lifetime high driven by gains in financial and FMCG shares.

The 30-share BSE Sensex rose by 281.52 points or 0.39 per cent to close at 72,708.16 points. As many as 17 Sensex shares advanced while 13 closed in the red. After a firm start, the index hit a high of 72,881.93 in day trade. The broader Nifty closed at its all-time high of 22,122.25 points, up by 81.55 points or 0.37 per cent from the last close. The 50-issue barometer also scaled its intra-day record high of 22,186.65 helped by gains in pharma, banking and oil shares. As many as 27 Nifty shares posted gains while 23 declined.

“The overall sentiment appears to position Nifty for a potential upward movement towards 22,500-22,600 in the short term. The immediate crucial support is situated at 22,000,” said Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst, LKP Securities.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services, said, “despite an unattractive risk reward, the broader market continued its outperformance in expectation of improvements in private capex and optimism about political stability.