Business Standard Podcast

Extending their rally, benchmark indices ended over 1 per cent higher on Tuesday, driven by gains in financials and energy counters. The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 37,535.66, up 481.56 points while the broader Nifty50 index settled at 11,301.20, up 133 points. Among sectoral indices, the Nifty Bank and Nifty Private Bank hit all-time highs during the intra-day trade, with ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank being the top gainers. The indices settled at 28,443.70 and 16,257.90, respectively. In the broader market, the S&P BSE Midcap index ended up 98 points, or 0.65 per cent higher at 15,192.84, while the S&P BSE SmallCap index ended at 14,920.50, up 158 points, or 1.07 per cent. Among individual stocks, shares of Bharti Airtel ended the day at Rs 350.50, up five per cent from its previous close. The stock of telecom services provider has surged 15 per cent in past two trading sessions, after the company said it will shed its stake in the Bharti Infratel from 50.33 per cent to 18.33 per cent. Shares of ICICI Bank hit a record high of Rs 388 in the intra-day trade on NSE. The stock, eventually, settled at Rs 388.70 up, 12.85 per cent. Reliance Industries (RIL), too, hit a 52-week high of Rs 1,333 apiece on BSE in the intra-day trade. The stock ended at Rs 1329.85, up over 2 per cent. On the contrary, HDFC Life Insurance ended 5 per cent lower at Rs 370.50 apiece on NSE after Standard Life Mauritius Holdings, the joint venture partner in HDFC Life Insurance, said it was planning to sell 4.93 per cent stake, or 99.5 million shares, in the life insurance firm at a floor price of Rs 357.50 per equity share.