Nifty hits all-time high as IT stocks lead the rally

Mumbai, Aug 28 : Indian frontline line indices extended gains in mid-session on Wednesday due to a rally in the IT stocks.

Due to the uptrend, the National Stock Exchange (NSE) benchmark Nifty made a new all-time high of 25,114, previously it was 25,078.

At 1.23 p.m., Sensex was up 233 points or 0.28 per cent at 81,943 and Nifty was up 84 points or 0.34 per cent at 25,102.

The rally was driven by IT stocks as the Nifty IT index also made a new lifetime high of 42,712.

Weakness was seen in the midcap and smallcap stocks compared to largecap stocks. Nifty midcap 100 index was up 42 points or 0.07 per cent at 59,263 and Nifty smallcap 100 index was up 56 points or 0.29 per cent at 19,389.

Among the sectoral indices, Nifty IT (2.28 per cent), Nifty Pharma (0.82 per cent), Nifty Healthcare (0.93 per cent) and Nifty Service Sector (0.58 per cent) were the major gainers. Nifty Media (0.49 per cent), Nifty PSU Bank (0.25 per cent) and Nifty FMCG (0.11 per cent) were the major losers.

In the Sensex pack, Wipro, IndusInd Bank, Infosys, Bharti Airtel, Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech, Sun Pharma and M&M contributed the most. Maruti Suzuki, Axis Bank, Asian Paints, Nestlem ITC, Ultratech Cement, Kotak Mahindra Bank and L&T fell the most.

Shrey Jain, the Founder and CEO of SAS Online said, "Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty began today's trading session with a muted tone, opening flat to slightly positive. The Nifty index is expected to remain range-bound between 24,950 and 25,100 for the day. A breakout from this range could pave the way for a new directional trend."

"Overall, the market appears to be in a consolidation phase characterised by low volatility and this trend is likely to continue in the near term," he added.