Indian shares hit record highs as tech, bank stocks rally

BENGALURU: Indian shares closed at record highs on Thursday and ended the holiday-shortened week with a more than 2% gain, powered by a rally in banking and technology stocks.

The NSE Nifty 50 index ended up 0.97% at 18,338.55, and the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex closed 0.94% higher at 61,305.95. Indian markets will be closed on Friday.

Both the indexes have risen for six straight sessions, aided by the central bank's assurance on liquidity, easing inflation and an emergency nod for a COVID-19 vaccine for kids.

Most major sub-indexes advanced on Thursday. The NSE Bank index closed up 1.8%, led by a 2.93% rise in lender HDFC Bank, which is due to post results on Saturday.

Nifty's IT index closed up 1.3%, led by a 7.5% rise in Mindtree after it clocked higher profits.

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Wipro hit a record high during the session and closed 5.3% higher after it logged a near 19% rise in quarterly consolidated net profit.

Infosys, the country's No.2 IT services firm, rose to a near three-week high during the day and closed up 0.4% after it raised its revenue forecast for the year.

Shares of port operator Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone was the top percentage gainer on the Nifty 50 index, closing up 7.7% at its highest level since June.

A rally in auto stocks lost steam, with the Nifty auto index snapping five sessions of gains.

Domestic car and sport-utility vehicle sales in India fell 41% in September from a year ago, data showed on Thursday.

Tata Motors, which had seen a heady rally in recent sessions, closed down 1.8%. Still, the carmaker has registered a 30% gain for the week.