By Abhishek Vishnoi
MUMBAI (Reuters) - The BSE Sensex and Nifty rose to their second consecutive record high on Tuesday as blue-chips such as Tata Motors Ltd gained on positive institutional inflows, while oil retailers surged after Brent crude prices hovered near 14-month lows.
The broader Nifty rose as much as 0.56 percent to 7,918.55, while the benchmark BSE Sensex gained as much as 0.53 percent to 26,530.67, surpassing their previous all-time highs hit on Aug. 18.
Modi government's promise of reforms and Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan's inflation target and management of the rupee crisis last August have inspired confidence among foreign investors who have pumped in $12.33 billion in equities so far this year.
Expectations that falling crude oil prices will augur well for importers, and higher global stocks on renewed risk appetite, also helped.
"Foreign investors are supporting the rally. Sentiment is positive but cautious. Markets will trade range-bound for the time being," said Suresh Parmar, head, institutional equities at KJMC Capital Markets.
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The Sensex rose 0.11 percent, or 29.71 points, to end at 26,420.67, while the Nifty rose 0.3 percent, or 23.25 points, to end at 7,897.50.
Also, both the indexes marked their sixth consecutive day of gains, their longest winning streak since July 24 when they rose for eight sessions.
Overseas investors bought cash shares worth of 4.73 billion rupees ($77.8 million) on Monday, provisional exchange data showed. They also purchased equity derivatives worth of 15.12 billion rupees.
Also, domestic institutional investors bought cash shares worth of 4.90 billion rupees in the previous session raising hopes that retail investors' interest might be coming back in the market.
Blue-chips led the rally, with Tata Motors rising 3 percent and Larsen and Toubro Ltd ending 1.1 percent higher.
Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd rose 3.6 percent, while ICICI Bank ended up 0.8 percent.
Indian oil retailers rose after Brent crude oil prices hovered near 14-month lows and on hopes of upcoming diesel price hike.
Hindustan Petroleum Corp rose 2.5 percent, Bharat Petroleum Corp surged 3.9 percent, while Indian Oil Corp gained 1.7 percent.
Shares of Indian loan providers, which use gold as collateral, surged on relative valuations.
Manappuram Finance Ltd surged 20 percent to its daily limit and its highest level since March 2013, while Muthoot Finance Ltd rose 9.4 percent.
However among stocks that fell, Voltas Ltd lost 1.9 percent on profit-taking after rising 16.8 percent over the last two sessions till Monday.
(Additional reporting by Indulal PM; Editing by Anand Basu)