Sensex hits 43,000-mark for first time; Nifty tops 12,600

Extending its winning streak for the seventh straight session, equity benchmark Sensex soared 680 points to scale another lifetime high on Tuesday, tracking a global market rally driven by Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine trials data.

After touching its lifetime peak of 43,316.44 during the day, the 30-share BSE index ended 680.22 points or 1.60 per cent higher at 43,277.65.

The broader NSE Nifty too touched a fresh intra-day high of 12,643.90. It ended at 12,631.10, up 170.05 points or 1.36 per cent.

Bajaj Finance was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, surging around 9 per cent, followed by IndusInd Bank, L&T, Bajaj Finserv, HDFC, SBI, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, ONGC and Axis Bank.

On the other hand, Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech, Infosys, Nestle India, Sun Pharma and TCS closed in the red.

"Announcements by BioNTech and Pfizer about successful phase 3 trial of COVID-19 vaccine instilled confidence among investors and possibility of sustained economic recovery led sharp buying in beaten down stocks," said Arjun Yash Mahajan, Head Institutional Business at Reliance Securities.

Favourable global markets and NDA's surprising lead in Bihar assembly elections also supported the rally, he added.

However, champions that emerged during pandemic like IT and pharma stocks witnessed sharp profit booking, he noted.

Pfizer and BioNTech on Monday said their vaccine candidate was found to be more than 90 per cent effective in preventing COVID-19.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Hong Kong, Seoul and Tokyo ended with gains, while Shanghai settled lower.

Stock exchanges in Europe were mostly trading on a positive note.

Foreign institutional investors remained net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth Rs 4,548.39 crore on Monday, according to provisional exchange data.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 1.42 per cent higher at USD 43 per barrel.