Sensex soars past 54K for first time; Nifty ends above 16,250

Indian stocks continued their record run for second consecutive day with Sensex closing over the 54,000-mark for the first time. After hitting a lifetime peak of 54,465.91 during the session, the 30-share index closed 546.41 points or 1.02% higher at a record 54,369.77. Similarly, the NSE Nifty climbed 128.05 points or 0.79% to its all-time peak of 16,258.80. The 50-share index touched a lifetime intra-day high of 16,290.20. Strong gains across banks, financial counters and a positive trend in global markets supported today's rally. However, market breadth was negative as 2,119 stocks declined on the BSE, while 1,137 advanced and 116 remained unchanged. HDFC was the top Sensex gainer, surging around 5%, followed by Kotak Bank, ICICI Bank, SBI, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank. On the other hand, Titan, Nestle India, Ultratech Cement and Sun Pharma were among the laggards.