Sensex ends above 56K for first time; Nifty scales 16,700

Mumbai, August 27

Equity benchmark Sensex climbed 175 points to close above the 56,000-mark for the first time on Friday, driven by strong buying in infrastructure, finance and pharma stocks despite lacklustre global cues.

A strengthening rupee further bolstered sentiment, traders said. Staging a smart rebound after a gap-down opening, the Sensex settled 175.62 points higher at its new closing peak of 56,124.72. The Nifty gained 68.30 points to finish at a record 16,705.20.

UltraTech Cement was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, surging 3.64%, followed by L&T, Dr Reddy’s, Bajaj Finserv, Sun Pharma, TCS, Bharti Airtel and Kotak Bank. On the other hand, Infosys, IndusInd Bank, M&M, Nestle India, HCL Tech, HDFC Bank and Tech Mahindra were among the laggards, shedding up to 1.07%. “Indian benchmark indices remained in positive territory even as global markets traded mixed as investors awaited announcements from the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium. Mid and small-cap stocks continued their outperformance while recovery in the metal and pharma sectors guided them to be the sectoral leaders. — PTI

Major milestones this year

• Jan 21: Sensex touches 50,000-mark in intra-day
• Feb 3: Closes above 50,000 for the first time
• Feb 5: Crosses 51,000-mark in intra-day trade
• Feb 8: Ends above 51,000-level
• Feb 15: Jumps above 52,000-mark
• June 22: Reaches 53,000-mark in intra-day trade
• July 7: Closes above the 53,000-mark for the first time
• Aug 4: Benchmark goes past 54,000 for the first time
• Aug 13: Rallies above 55,000 for the first time
• Aug 18: Breaches 56,000-mark for first time in intra-day trade
• Aug 25: Reaches its lifetime high of 56,198.13 points
• Aug 27: Closes above the 56,000-mark for the first time