Sensex, Nifty close at all-time high, led by metal and auto shares

Indian equity indices closed in the green on Thursday led by metal, auto and banking stocks.

Sensex closed at 1,439 points or 1.77 per cent higher at 82,962 and Nifty closed 470 points or 1.89 per cent higher at 25,388.

Intraday, both Sensex and Nifty made a new all-time high of 83,116 and 25,433 respectively.

Buying was seen in the midcap and smallcap stocks. The Nifty Midcap 100 index was at 59,640, up 702 points or 1.19 per cent and the Nifty Smallcap 100 index was at 19,354, up 192 points or 1.01 per cent.

Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst, LKP Securities said: "The Nifty has broken out of its recent consolidation on the daily chart, indicating a rise in optimism. Additionally, the index has been sustaining above the critical 21-day EMA, a near-term moving average. The RSI on the daily chart shows a bullish crossover, reinforcing the positive sentiment. The trend is expected to remain strong, as the index closed above the recent consolidation high."

"On the upside, the rally could potentially continue toward the 25,470–25,500 range, while support is seen at 25,100," he added.

In the Sensex pack, NTPC, Bharti Airtel, M&M, Wipro, JSW Steel, Tech Mahindra, SBI, L&T, Tata Steel, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Infosys, UltraTech Cement and HUL were the top gainers. Only Nestle closed in the red in the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) benchmark.

Almost all indices closed in the green. Auto, IT, PSU, fin Service, pharma, metal and energy were major gainers.

Narendra Solanki, Head Fundamental Research - Investment Services, Anand Rathi Shares and Stock Brokers said, "The markets gained strength on news of China cutting rates by 50 bps on $5 trillion mortgages as soon as this month to boost consumption came out ahead of a European Central Bank (ECB) policy meeting later in the day; providing much needed sentimental boost to the markets."