Sun Pharma, lenders drive BSE Sensex to life-high

MUMBAI (Reuters) - The BSE Sensex hit a record high on Wednesday, surpassing the previous all-time high hit just last week as Sun Pharmaceutical Industries surged on broker upgrades after it agreed to acquire Ranbaxy Laboratories in a $3.2 billion deal.

The BSE Sensex rose as much as 1.77 percent to an all-time high of 22,740.04, surpassing its previous all-time high hit on April 3. The Nifty rose as much as 1.7 percent to a record high of 6,808.70.

Sun Pharmaceutical provisionally gained 6.8 percent, rising the most in a day since August 2013, while Ranbaxy shares also rallied 4.7 percent.

Investors also regained appetite for blue-chips, especially interest rate-sensitive banks, which rose 3.4 percent, after indexes had retreated from previous record highs hit on April 3.

 

The BSE Sensex provisionally ended 1.61 percent higher, while the Nifty rose 1.51 percent.

(Reporting by Abhishek Vishnoi; Editing by Anand Basu)