Market highlights: Sensex, Nifty hit record highs; Nestle, RIL rally, IT majors drag

The rupee ended 12 paise lower at 83.18 per dollar from the previous close of 83.06.

At close, the Sensex was up 122.10 points or 0.17% at 71,437.19, and the Nifty was up 34.40 points or 0.16% at 21,453.10.

Oil steadied on Tuesday as investors considered the potential impact of attacks by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi militants on ships in the Red Sea, which have disrupted maritime trade and forced companies to reroute vessels.

Brent crude fell 12 cents to $77.83 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate crude for January, which expires on Tuesday, was down 62 cents at $71.85 while the more active February contract lost only 3 cents.

Shares of Reliance hit a four-month high of ₹2,573.9 earlier today. The stock is currently up 1.54% on the day and 9.22% over the past month.

At 3 pm the Sensex was up 62.86 points or 0.09% at 71,377.95, and the Nifty was up 12.30 points or 0.06% at 21,431.00.

Transformers and Rectifiers India has been awarded an order for transformers worth ₹237 crore from Power Grid Corporation of India.

The yen tumbled on Tuesday after the Bank of Japan maintained its ultra-loose monetary policy and did not signal a change was coming, while the dollar drifted at the low end of its recent range. The dollar and euro both climbed 1% on the yen, each set for its biggest daily gain since October-end, with the greenback reaching 144.27 yen, and the common currency 157.68.

Xpro India said in an exchange filing it plans to raise up to ₹140 crore through a preferential issue of convertible warrants and up to ₹150 crore via a qualified institutional placement.

Shares of IDFC First Bank surged 3% to ₹92.33 after the RBI approved its merger with IDFC and IDFC Financial Holding Company.

At 2 pm the Sensex was up 211.51 points or 0.30% at 71,526.60, and the Nifty was up 54.10 points or 0.25% at 21,472.80.

SBI shares hit a record high of ₹659.60 during trading today. The stock is up around 1.5% today and around 17% over the past month.

The Happy Forgings IPO is 90% subscribed so far on the first day of bidding. The company has received bids for 75.6 lakh of the 83.65 lakh shares on offer.

Suraj Estate Developers IPO was subscribed 1.5 times on the second day of bidding. The company received bids for 1.23 crore shares against the 82.35 lakh on offer.

Supreme Petrochem will buy a 26% stake in special purpose vehicle TP Saturn Limited from Tata Power Renewable Energy Ltd (TPREL) for ₹5.36 crore.

At 1 pm the Sensex was up 190.73 points or 0.27% at 71,505.82, and the Nifty was up 49.40 points or 0.23% at 21,468.10.

"IT stocks have rallied 7-18% in the past month, especially the past week. While the Fed’s move warranted an upward movement in stock prices, the resulting rally was a tad optimistic. Our current revenue growth and EPS estimates already factor in the positives for FY2025. We increase fair values by 9-20% on rollover and increase in multiples factoring in lower macro uncertainty.

"We downgrade HCLT to ‘Add’ from ‘Buy’ and Persistent to ‘Reduce’ from ‘Add’. Infosys remains our top pick among IT services companies. Upside has reduced for HCLT following the recent sharp rally. It remains our next pick."

LIC sold a 0.8% stake in Tata Motors in Q3, CNBC-TV18 is reporting.

The ₹151-crore public issue of Motisons Jewellers has been subscribed 28 times so far on the second day of bidding. The company received bids for 58.47 crore shares against 2.08 crore on offer.

Tokyo stocks closed higher on Tuesday as the yen slipped against the dollar after the Bank of Japan maintained its ultra-loose monetary policy. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 1.41% or 460.41 points to 33,219.39, while the broader Topix index gained 0.73% or 16.95 points to end at 2,333.81.

At 12 pm the Sensex was up 135.16 points or 0.19% at 71,450.25, and the Nifty was up 28.10 points or 0.13% at 21,446.80.