The Indian stock market reached new milestones on Wednesday as the Sensex closed above the 85,000 level for the first time and the Nifty breached the 26,000 mark, driven by late buying in banking and power stocks.
After a volatile trading session, the BSE Sensex climbed 255.83 points, or 0.30%, to settle at a record high of 85,169.87. The index had touched an intra-day peak of 85,247.42, marking a gain of 333.38 points, or 0.39%, earlier in the session.
The NSE Nifty closed at 26,004.15, gaining 63.75 points, or 0.25%, from the previous close, after hitting an intra-day high of 26,032.80.
Among the top gainers in the Sensex pack were Power Grid, Axis Bank, NTPC, Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Finance, Tata Steel, Mahindra & Mahindra, and HDFC Bank.
In contrast, Tech Mahindra, Tata Motors, Titan, Kotak Mahindra Bank, State Bank of India, and JSW Steel emerged as the biggest losers.
"After range-bound trading, the indices gained momentum towards the close, largely due to buying interest in banking and power stocks.
However, mid- and small-cap stocks witnessed corrections due to concerns over high valuations," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.
Nair further noted that the domestic market could face short-term headwinds due to a reduction in foreign institutional investors' (FIIs) inflows, as funds are being shifted to other emerging markets offering cheaper valuations.
The broader market witnessed mixed trends, with corrections in mid-cap and small-cap stocks. While the BSE mid-cap index declined by 0.33%, the small-cap index saw a deeper cut of 0.79%.
In global markets, key indices showed mixed performances. Shanghai and Hong Kong closed higher, while Seoul and Tokyo ended in the red.
European markets were trading mostly lower, following a decline in the global oil benchmark Brent crude, which slipped 0.35% to USD 74.91 a barrel. On Tuesday, US markets had closed on a positive note.
Foreign Institutional Investors offloaded equities worth Rs 2,784.14 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.
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