Indices hit new highs; bank, financial stocks take lead

Better-than-expected growth in industrial output and a global equities rally pushed the benchmark indices record highs today. The rally was led by financial services and bank stocks with Bank Nifty rising over 1%. ICICI Bank, HDFC, Mahindra & Mahindra Finance, Kotak Bank and Axis Bank took the Nifty Bank index to a new  high.

HDFC climbed 6.17% to its 52-week high after the company announced its plan to raise up to Rs 13,000 crore through a QIP issue.

Other big gainers were Tata Steel, Power Grid, Asian Paint, NTPC, SBI and Reliance Industries.

Auto, oil & gas, infrastructure, IT, teck, capital goods, health care and PSU sectoral indices ended in the red.

On the BSE, 1534 stocks advanced and 1386 stocks (44.47% of total) declined.

BSE Sensex closed at 34,843.51, up 0.73%, while the broader Nifty settled at 10,741.55, up 0.56% after breaching the 10,750 level. 

Industrial activity in the country as measured by the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) rose to a 25-month high of 8.4% in November from 2.2% the previous month, brought some cheer in the markets. 

Meanwhile, wholesale price  inflation eased to 3.58% in December 2017 as prices of food articles declined while fuel cost witnessed a surge. The inflation was 3.93% in November 2017 and 2.10% in December 2016.

Asia shares ex-Japan hit historic highs after Wall Street extended its record-breaking run as banks reported solid fourth-quarter earnings and robust retail sales drove investor optimism.

The US dollar retreat continued as investors priced in the risk of tighter policies elsewhere in the developed world.