Nifty50 scales record high for first time in 13 months as the bulls stay in charge of D-Street for fifth straight day

Indian equity benchmarks scaled record closing highs on Monday, continuing to rise for the fifth session in a row, led by gains in oil & gas and auto stocks, and select financial heavyweights such as ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and Bajaj Finance. The Nifty Bank — whose members include India's top lenders such as SBI, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Bajaj Finance — also clocked its highest ever close.

Globally, investors awaited a key speech from the Fed Chairman due this week for more clarity on the path of COVID-era benchmark interest rates.

Both headline indices closed 0.3 percent higher at record levels. The Sensex rose 211.2 points to end at 62,504.8, having hit a lifetime high of 62,701.4 during the session.

The Nifty50 settled at 18,562.8, up 50 points from its previous close, having touched a record high of 18,614.3 in intraday trade. The 50-scrip index took out a record high of  18,604.5, logged on October 19, 2021.

Twenty five stocks in the Nifty50 universe closed higher. Bharat Petroleum, Reliance, Hero MotoCorp, Tata Consumer, SBI Life, Asian Paints, Nestle, Bajaj Finserv, Britannia and Bajaj Auto — rising between 0.9 percent and five percent — were the top gainers.

Reliance, ICICI Bank and Asian Paints were the biggest boosts for both main gauges.

On the other hand, Hindalco, Apollo Hospitals, JSW Steel, Tata Steel, HDFC Bank, Grasim, Bharti Airtel, Infosys, HCL Tech and HDFC were the top laggards, falling between 0.9 percent and 2.1 percent.

"The future course of global market will depend on (Fed Chairman Jerome) Powell’s speech on Wednesday, which is crucial in maintaining momentum, as the market seems to have factored in a moderation in the pace of rate hikes," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

Overall market breadth favoured the bulls at the close, as 2,058 stocks rose and 1,555 fell on BSE.

Foreign institutional investors remained net buyers of Indian shares for a third straight day, according to provisional exchange data.

The rupee ended nearly unchanged at 81.67 against the US dollar.

European markets began the day in the red, mirroring the trend across much of Asia. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was last down one percent, retreating from three-month highs scaled in the previous session.

S&P 500 futures were down 0.7 percent, suggesting a negative start ahead on Wall Street.