Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty rallied to fresh lifetime highs on Tuesday following heavy buying in banking, financial, realty and auto counters amid persistent foreign capital inflows. A strengthening rupee also boosted market sentiments, traders said.
After scaling a record intra-day high of 44,601.63, the 30-share BSE Sensex ended 445.87 points or 1.01 per cent higher at a record 44,523.02. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty rose 128.70 points or 1 per cent to close above the 13,000-mark for the first time at 13,055.15.
Axis Bank was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, surging around 4 per cent, followed by M&M, HDFC Bank, ITC, SBI, ICICI Bank, Maruti, Kotak Bank and Sun Pharma. On the other hand, HDFC, Titan, Nestle India, Bharti Airtel, ONGC and Infosys were among the laggards.