Sensex, Nifty close at fresh lifetime highs on gains in ICICI Bank, Infosys

Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty ticked higher to close at fresh all-time high levels on July 4.

Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty ticked higher to close at fresh all-time high levels on July 4, following buying in market heavyweights ICICI Bank, Infosys and TCS amid a largely positive trend in global equities.

The 30-share BSE Sensex scaled an intraday record high of 80,392.64 in early trade. The index pared most of the gains later due to volatility and profit-taking by investors at record levels. Sensex closed 62.87 points or 0.08% higher at 80,049.67, its all-time closing high.

The broader Nifty also hit an intra-day record high of 24,401 in early trade before closing almost flat. The 50-issue index rose by 15.65 points or 0.06% to settle at a record 24,302.15 with 23 of its shares closing higher and 27 with losses.

"The defensive bet on large caps like IT and pharma gained momentum due to the diminishing U.S. inflationary pressure, improvement in QoQ earnings outlook and a resultant sharp fall in the U.S. 10-year bond yield.

"The buoyancy in government spending and the green shoots in corporate earnings are now supporting the premium valuation. Return of FIIs to the domestic market and expectation of a rate cut in September are supporting market sentiment," Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, said.

Among Sensex shares, HCL Technologies, ICICI Bank, Tata Motors, Sun Pharmaceuticals, Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Mahindra and Mahindra were the gainers.

In contrast, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finance, Larsen & Toubro, Tech Mahindra, UltraTech Cement and IndusInd Bank were among the laggards.