Nifty hits all-time high of 4,261 pts

BSE's Sensex lags in rise, up 115 points to 14,419.

The 50-share Nifty index of the National Stock Exchange rose to an all-time high today, buoyed by renewed buying in heavyweights Reliance Industries and Oil & Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) and cues from buoyant Asian markets.

In contrast, the 30-share Sensitive Index of the Bombay Stock Exchange ended the day 305.28 points below its all-time high of 14,723.88 posted on February 9 this year. The Sensex usually leads a rise and the Nifty follows.

However, most stocks whose prices have risen in recent times have small or no presence in the bellwether index.

The Nifty touched an all-time high of 4,269.30 intra-day before closing at 4,260.90, which too was a record.

Analysts said Reliance Petroleum, ONGC, Sterlite Industries and Steel Authority of India (SAIL), which have seen hefty gains since the last peak, were the stocks that propelled Nifty to the record high.

ONGC has less weight in Sensex, whereas Reliance Petroleum, Sterlite and Sail are not among the 30 stocks that represent BSE's Sensex.

The BSE-30 Dollex index, which gives the returns on the index in dollar terms, touched an all-time high of 2,914.96 today, thanks to the rising rupee "" the Indian currency is at a 9-year high.

"The Nifty has closed above the crucial level of 4,250. We see an immediate upside to about 4,350. We have also revised our medium term target for Nifty to 4,700, though there could be a minor correction," said Alex K Mathew, research head of Geojit Financial Services.

Ajit Roongta, fund manager, IDBI Capital Markets, added, "Though the Nifty has peaked, volumes are low. The Nifty hit its high mainly due to the rise in index heavyweights such as Reliance Industries, Bharti and State Bank of India."

Reliance Industries has risen by 26.24 per cent since February to its all-time high of Rs 1,761.55 today, while Bharti Airtel gained 10.16 per cent in value in the same period. State Bank rose by 12.88 per cent to near peak levels.