The domestic benchmark indices rose for the fourth day in a row to hit record closing highs, amid firm global cues, after US President Donald Trump signed a $2.3 trillion spending package. Meanwhile, investors continued to celebrate a last-minute trade deal clinched between Britain and the European Union.
A survey conducted by FICCI and Dhruva Advisors showed that the opening up of the economy and implementation of a broad set of measures have led to a continuous improvement over time in the performance of businesses, with India Inc expecting even better results in 2021. This further enthused the stock market bulls.
After scaling an all-time high of 47,406.72 in intraday trade, the BSE barometer Sensex rose 380 points to a record close of 47,353.75, thanks to buying in private lenders. It was the first time the 30-pack index ended above the 47,000 mark. Its NSE counterpart Nifty too settled at a record high of 13,873.20, up 123.95 points.
HDFC twins and ICICI Bank were the top Sensex contributors today. Only four stocks out of 30 ended in the red. Titan, SBI, L&T and IndusInd Bank were the biggest gainers, rising up to 3 per cent. HUL, on the other hand, was the worst performer.
Shares of TCS hit a fresh 52-week high in intraday trade with the market cap of the company vaulting above the Rs 11 lakh crore mark but failed to end above the same level following some profit-taking in the counter.
The broader market outpaced benchmark as Nifty Midcap 100 index jumped 1.19 per cent and Nifty Smallcap 1.68 per cent.
The volatility meter, India Vix, rose 2.30 per cent.
All sectors on NSE, barring Nifty Pharma, ended in the green with Nifty PSU Bank, Nifty Realty and Nifty Metals gaining over 2.50 per cent each.
In stock-specific developments, shares of Dixon Technologies jumped 6 per cent after the company's wholly-owned subsidiary Padget Electronics entered into an agreement with Motorola for manufacturing of smartphones.
Shares of Tips Industries surged 13 per cent after the company announced a global deal with Facebook to license its music for videos and other social experiences across Facebook and Instagram.
Lastly, an update on the global markets...
Global shares were trading on an upbeat note after Britain and the European Union signed a long-awaited trade deal, while a bumper US stimulus package boosted investor sentiment for riskier global assets. The benchmark European stock index jumped 0.5%, with automakers and energy stocks gaining the most. The MSCI world index, which tracks shares in 49 nations, rose 0.3%.
The British market was closed for the Boxing Day holiday.
U.S. S&P futures rose 0.6% in their first trade after the Christmas holiday, indicating a solid start for Wall Street indices.
 "Market Wrap, December 28: Here's all that happened in the markets today")
