Sensex, Nifty end at fresh lifetime highs

Indian benchmark equity indices settled at fresh lifetime highs on Monday amid a positive trend in global equities. After touching an intra-day record high of 58,515.85, Sensex ended 166.96 points or 0.29% higher at 58,296.91. Likewise, the NSE Nifty advanced 54.20 points or 0.31% to record 17,377.80. The 50-share index touched an intra-day all-time high of 17,429.55. HCL Tech, closing over 2% higher, was the top Sensex gainer followed by Infosys, Reliance Industries, Tech Mahindra, Bajaj Auto and M&M. IndusInd Bank, Kotak Bank Bank, Power Grid, Sun Pharma and Asian Paints were among the laggards. Sectoral indices on the NSE ended mixed. Nifty Realty, rallying 3.22%, was the top sectoral gainer followed by Nifty IT, up 1.56%. Nifty Auto and Nifty Metal added 0.34% and 0.33%, respectively. On the downside, Nifty Bank slipped 0.51%, Nifty FMCG fell 0.22% and Nifty Pharma lost 0.14%. In Asia, stock exchanges in Shanghai Seoul, Tokyo and Hong Kong ended on a positive note.