Mumbai, Apr 3 (PTI): Indian stock market started the new fiscal on a positive note today, with both Sensex and Nifty closing at record highs of 29,910 and 9,238, respectively -- spurred by a rally in index heavyweights RIL and L&T.
Giving a fillip to the positive sentiment was the release of the Nikkei India Manufacturing PMI which increased to a five-month high of 52.5 in March, from 50.7 in February, indicating a further improvement in the health of India’s manufacturing sector.
Besides, the fast paced developments on the GST resolution and improved global scenario after last week's worries regarding the US healthcare bill also strengthened the benchmark indices.
The Sensex resumed higher at 29,737.73 and hovered in a range of 29,926.94 and 29,705.72 before closing at a record high of 29,910.22, showing a gain of 289.72 points, or 0.98 per cent -- also its single day biggest gain since March 14 this year. The previous closing high for Sensex was 29,681.88 logged on January 29, 2015.
The NSE 50-share Nifty also rose by 64.10 points, or 0.70 per cent, to end at an all-time closing high of 9,237.85 after moving in a range of 9,245.35 and 9,192.40.
Karthikraj Lakshmanan, Senior Fund Manager – Equities, BNP Paribas Mutual Fund, said, "Markets in India started the financial year 2017 on a buoyant note. Key benchmark indices opened the trading day in the positive zone and traded in the green through the day to finally close with gains of over 0.5 per cent."
Heavyweight Reliance Industries jumped 3.94 per cent to Rs 1,371.20 after its telecom unit Jio extended its subscription for Prime membership and offered a complimentary service for three months.
Larsen and Toubro emerged as the top gainer by surging 5.26 per cent to Rs 1,660.65.
Other winners in the Sensex-pack included Dr reddy, ICICI Bank, GAIL, HDFC, Asian paints, Axis Bank, Tata Motors, HUL, Maruti Suzuki, Adani Ports and Sun Pharma.
However, Infosys slipped by 1.11 per cent to Rs 1,009.45 after a fresh row erupted between some founders and the top management of the company.
Other losers were Bharti Airtel, Wipro, Bajaj Auto, HDFC Bank, NTPC, TCS and Lupin -- falling up to 2.37 per cent.
Sectoriwse, the BSE capital goods index gained the most by surging 3.47 per cent, followed by healthcare index 1.05 per cent, Oil&Gas index 0.77 per cent, banking index 0.67 per cent, consumer durable index 0.62 per cent and auto index 0.40 per cent.
In line with overall trend, Smallcap index rose 1.29 per cent and Mid-cap index was up 0.66 per cent. Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 295.92 crore last Friday, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges.
Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 1,499.41 crore, as per provisional data. In Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.62 per cent, Japan's Nikkei was up 0.39 per cent, while Shanghai's Composite Index remained closed today for a public holiday.
European markets too were trading higher Key indices in France, Germany and UK's FTSE rose by up to 0.50 per cent in their early deals. Domestic stock markets will remain close tomorrow on account of "Ram Navami".