Sensex, Nifty soar lifetime high levels; Realty, PSU Bank stocks rally

Benchmark indices continued to extend gains after Nifty surpassed the 10,400-mark for the first time ever on Wednesday, whereas the 30-share BSE Sensex climbed over 350 points in the morning trade Wednesday.

The BSE Sensex was trading 354 points or 1.07 per cent up at 33,567.33 whereas NSE Nifty index was up 94 points or 0.91 per cent at 10,429.75 at around 11 am (IST).

Barring Nifty Media (down 0.39 per cent), Nifty IT (down 0.28 per cent) and Nifty Pharma (down 0.07 per cent), all other sectoral indices were trading in green.

Nifty Realty and Nifty PSU Bank index surged over 3 per cent each thanks to gains in stocks such as Syndicate Bank (up 10.85 per cent), Allahbad Bank (up 6.19 per cent), Andhra Bank (up 4.84 per cent), Oberoi Realty (up 4.91 per cent), Godrej Properties (up 4.14 per cent) and DLF (up 4.10 per cent) among others.

09.27 am: Market at fresh lifetime high; Sensex rallies 300 points, Nifty hits 10,400
Benchmark indices scaled fresh record high levels on Wednesday, tracking firm Asian cues after Caixin China manufacturing PMI for October came in at 51, largely in line with expectations. Improved investor sentiment was also seen as India broke into the top 100 in the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business rankings, notching up the biggest improvement among all countries on the back of big gains on a number of measures.

Investors were eagerly awaiting a few big corporate results including those from Tech Mahindra and Hero MotoCorp. Also, all eyes were on auto stocks as auto makers report auto sales figures for October.

The market was also keenly awaiting the outcome of two-day Fed policy review due later in the day.

At 9.27 am, the BSE Sensex was trading 261.49 points, or 0.79 per cent, higher at 33,474.62. The index hit a all-time high 33,490.23 in morning trade. The Nifty50 was trading at 10,410.40, up 75.10 points, or 0.73 per cent.

India VIX eased 2.5 per cent to 12.13.

"One should continue focusing on individual stocks in order to get better trade setups. Traders are advised to stay light and avoid taking undue risks," Sameet Chavan of Angel Broking said.

Among Sensex stocks, Bharti Airtel rose 2.7 per cent to Rs 511.05, even as the telecom operator reported a 63.71 per cent year-on-year (YoY) rise in net profit at Rs 586.10 crore for the September quarter. After including exceptional items, profit for the operator stood at Rs 343 crore for the quarter. The numbers were still better than Rs 339 crore profit estimated by analysts in an ET NOW poll.

SBI rose 2.22 per cent to Rs 312.60. The lender has cut marginal cost-based lending rates (MCLR) across maturities by 5 basis points. Besides, it reduced retail term deposit rates by 25 basis points.

Axis bank rose 2.19 per cent to Rs 312.50. ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries and Adani Ports added up to 1.60 per cent. Dr Reddy's labs declined 1.37 per cent to Rs 2398.10. Power Grid, TCS and Maruti Suzuki fell up to 0.2 per cent.

Auto stocks were in focus. The expectations from automobile sales in October is high given the likely Diwali-boost during the month. But volumes sequentially are seen growing only moderately, given high inventory buildup seen in the preceding few months, analysts said.

Cars and two-wheelers will drive the overall volume for the industry, albeit at a slower rate, as the festive season this year arrived two weeks earlier compared to last year, brokerage Nirmal Bang Institutional Equities said.

Hero MotoCorp, Tech Mahindra, Apollo Tyres, Hexaware, JSW Energy, TVS Motor, Praj Industries, Music Broadcast and Godrej Properties would be some of the companies scheduled to announce quarterly results.

Meanwhile, New India Assurance Company is all set to launch its Rs 9,600 crore IPO on Wednesday (November 1). This will be country's second-biggest IPO in insurance sector post GIC Re's Rs 11,370 crore issue.