Sensex rallies over 300 pts to hit record peak; RIL jumps 4 pc

Equity benchmark BSE Sensex rallied over 300 points to hit its lifetime high on Wednesday, enthused by gains in Reliance Industries which also scaled a fresh peak in the morning session. After hitting a high of 40,816.38, the 30-share index was trading 321.20 points or 0.79 percent, higher at 40,790.90.

Similarly, the broader Nifty reclaimed the 12,000 marks. It was quoting at 87.25 points, or 0.73 percent, up at 12,027.35. Shares of Reliance Industries (RIL) rallied nearly 4 per cent to hit their lifetime high of Rs 1,571.85 (intra-day), inching closer to the Rs 10 lakh crore market-capitalisation level, after the company's telecom arm, Reliance Jio, announced tariff hikes in the next few weeks in compliance with rules, as it followed similar announcements by Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea.

Other gainers in the Sensex pack included IndusInd Bank, Sun Pharma, Bharti Airtel, L&T, Asian Paints, Yes Bank, and Maruti. Meanwhile, Bajaj Auto, Kotak Bank, NTPC, HCL Tech, SBI and Hero MotoCorp were trading in the negative terrain.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Seoul, and Tokyo were trading in the red after US President Donald Trump on Tuesday warned that failure to get a trade deal with China will prompt more tariffs. On the currency front, the rupee appreciated marginally against the US dollar to trade at 71.69 in the morning session.

Brent futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.31 percent to USD 60.72 per barrel.