Nifty, Sensex Hit Fresh Highs On Buy Before Final Budget: Midday Market Update

India's benchmark stock indices hit a fresh lifetime high during midday on Wednesday after a muted start on Wednesday. Reliance Industries Ltd., ICICI Bank Ltd. and Ultratech Cement Ltd. led the gains.

As of 11:51 a.m., Nifty was trading 92.95 points, or 0.39%, higher at 23,814.25, and Sensex gained 397.13 points, or 0.51%, to trade at 78,450.66. Intraday, the Nifty and Sensex hit new record highs of 23,825.75 and 78,483.55, respectively.

"On the higher side, the move can get extended to 23,950–24,000 levels from its 350-point range breakout, and on the downside, 23,350 will be a support," said Vikas Jain, senior research analyst at Reliance Securities Ltd.

However, RSI and other key technical indicators are at the higher end of the range and could be volatile with respect to the monthly expiry, he said.

Shares of Reliance Industries Ltd., ICICI Bank Ltd., UltraTech Cement Ltd., Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd., and Bharti Airtel Ltd. contributed to gains in the Nifty.

While those of HDFC Bank Ltd., Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd., Tata Steel Ltd., Bajaj Steel Industries Ltd., and Hindalco Industries Ltd. weighed the index.

On NSE, nine out of 12 sectors advanced. Nifty Metal fell the most, while Nifty Media was the top performer.

Broader markets rose, with the S&P BSE Midcap gaining 0.07% and the S&P BSE Smallcap rising 0.51% through midday on Wednesday.

On BSE, 14 sectors out of 20 advanced, and six declined. S&P BSE Energy was the top performer, and the S&P BSE Metal was the worst performer.

Market breadth was skewed in the favour of buyers. Around 1,986 stocks advanced, 1,594 stocks declined, and 144 stocks remained unchanged on BSE.

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