Mumbai: Equity benchmark Sensex opened over 350 points higher to hit its record intra-day level Tuesday, tracking a global market rally driven by Pfizer’s progress in the development of COVID-19 vaccine amid persistent foreign fund inflow.
After touching its lifetime peak of 42,959.25 in the opening session, the 30-share BSE index was trading 216.15 points or 0.51 percent higher at 42,813.58.
Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty too claimed a fresh high of 12,557.05. Later, it was trading with 51.65 points or 0.41 percent gain at 12,512.70.
ICICI Bank was the top gainer, surging around 3 per cent, followed by ONGC, HDFC, L&T, SBI, HDFC Bank, IndusInd Bank and Bajaj Finance.
On the other hand, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, HCL Tech, TCS, Nestle India and Maruti were in the red.
In the previous session, Sensex ended 704.37 points or 1.68 per cent higher at 42,597.43 — its record closing high. The Nifty too closed at a lifetime high of 12,461.05, up 197.50 points or 1.61 per cent.
Trade set up in domestic equities continues to look good with Asian markets are trading in green with handsome gains, said Arjun Yash Mahajan Head Institutional Business at Reliance Securities.
“Clarity over COVID-19 vaccine is likely to ease the concerns of the possible second wave of coronavirus in India, which essentially means that revival of economic activities should persist. The domestic market should continue to see traction in the equities market in the near term,” he said.
Amid positive signals, investors were also cautious ahead of the Bihar Assembly election results, traders said.
Pfizer and BioNTech on Monday said their vaccine candidate was found to be more than 90 percent effective in preventing COVID-19.
US equities ended mostly higher as positive news about the COVID-19 vaccine bolstered investor confidence further.
Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tokyo were trading up to 0.74 percent higher in mid-session deals, while Seoul was flat.
Foreign institutional investors remained net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth Rs 4,548.39 crore Monday, according to provisional exchange data.
Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 1.23 percent lower at USD 41.88 per barrel.