Nifty Hits 9,300 For First Time Ever, Sensex Rises Over 250 Points

Indian stock markets extended their record run today with Nifty hitting 9,300 for first time amid a global rally. The Sensex surged over 250 points to inch closer to the 30,000 mark. The rupee also strengthened against the dollar as a string of strong quarterly results including from Reliance Industries Ltd and positive global cues boosted the sentiment. Sentiment was also bolstered as Asian markets hit multi-year highs, reflecting the return of risk appetite after a centrist victory in the first round of the French presidential election. 

"Global markets have been very positive on news from the French election," said Tirthankar Patnaik, India strategist, Mizuho Bank. Quarterly results have also been decent so far, adding to the optimism in the market, he said. 

Analysts said Nifty could be headed even higher after breaking out of the 9000-9250 range. In afternoon trade, Nifty was trading close to 9300 levels while Sensex was up around 250 points. 
Energy and financials stocks were among the top gainers on the NSE index. Bharat Petroleum Ltd and Indian Oil Corp Ltd rose about 3 per cent each, while ICICI Bank Ltd gained 1 per cent. Reliance Industries gained over 1 per cent after posting strong Q4 results. 

Among other gainers, Indiabulls Housing Finance Ltd gained nearly 1 per cent, after reporting on Monday a 24 per cent increase in March-quarter consolidated profit.  Biocon Ltd jumped as much as 9.7 per cent to a record high after the biopharmaceutical company said on Monday it was considering bonus share issue. 

TCS, NTPC and Tata Power Company were among the laggards, down around 1 per cent.