Sensex scales fresh closing high, but market breadth remains negative

The benchmark indices rose for a fifth straight session on Thursday, with the Sensex posting its highest ever close, led by market heavyweight Reliance Industries. Reliance Industries, the energy-to-telecoms conglomerate led by country's richest man Mukesh Ambani, hit $100 billion in market capitalisation for a second time. 

Shares of Reliance Industries rose as much as 5.8 per cent to a record high before trimming gains to close 4 per cent higher. 

The Sensex ended at record close level of 36,548, up 282.48 points, while the broader Nifty50 settled at 11,023, up 74.90 points. Earlier in the session, the BSE index hit its life-high of 36,699.53. 

The broader market underperformed with the BSE Midcap losing 0.5 per cent, while the BSE Smallcap remained unchanged. 

Market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, turned negative. On the BSE, 1,469 stocks declined, 1,170 stocks rallied, while 165 stocks remained unchanged. Earlier in the session, the BSE index hit its life-high of 36,699.53. For Nifty, today's closing in the highest since January 31, when it had ended at 11,027.70.

"It was an exceptional day for the equity markets as Nifty reclaimed 11,000 and gained over half a percent. The latest World Bank's report stated that India has become the world's sixth largest economy surpassing France, triggered upbeat start which further strengthened with favorable cues from global counterparts. Amid all, sectoral indices traded mixed wherein Energy topped the gainers list but pressure on broader front turned the market breadth negative," said Jayant Manglik, President, Religare Broking.

"Things have started falling in place with upbeat start of the earnings season however global negatives i.e. trade war scenario and crude oil price may continue to cause trouble in between. While almost the sectoral indices are contributing to the rally, PSU banks, metal and media are still reeling pressure. We reiterate our "buy on dips" advice on Nifty and suggest focusing more on stock selection," he added.

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The top gainers on the Sensex were Reliance Industries, Wipro, HDFC, Larsen and Toubro (L&T) and Hindustan Unilever whereas Vedanta, Infosys, Tata Motors (DVR), Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) and Bajaj Auto were the losers.

On the Nifty, Reliance Industries, BPCL and Bajaj Finance were the highest gainers while UPL, Vedanta and Bajaj Auto lost the most.

Meanwhile, foreign funds bought shares worth a net of Rs 636.27 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) made purchases worth Rs 15.33 crore on yesterday, provisional data showed.