Nifty closes above 20,000 for the first time, Sensex rises for 9th straight session

• Bharti Airtel rose the most by 2.72%. Titan, IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank, State Bank of India were the other gainers.
• Mahindra & Mahindra, Larsen & Toubro, Nestle were the top laggards in trade.
• As many as 20 Sensex shares closed in the green while 10 declined.

Benchmark indices, the Nifty and the Sensex, continued their bull run on Wednesday with the latter rising for a ninth straight session while Nifty closed above the record 20,000 mark for the first time as positive macroeconomic data triggered buying in banking, energy and telecom shares.

The 30-share BSE Sensex bounced back from early lows to trade near its all-time high levels at 67,565.41 in day trading. The barometer settled at 67,466.99, up 245.86 points or 0.37%. As many as 20 Sensex shares closed in the green while 10 declined.

The broader Nifty closed above the 20,000 mark for the first time, rallying 76.80 points or 0.38% to 20,070, its all-time closing high. Of 50 Nifty shares, 31 closed higher and 19 declined.

Among the Sensex firms, Bharti Airtel rose the most by 2.72%. Titan, IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank, State Bank of India, Power Grid, NTPC and Tata Motors were among the among the major gainers.

Mahindra & Mahindra, Larsen & Toubro, Nestle, JSW Steel, Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services, Tech Mahindra and Maruti were the major laggards.

"The domestic indices resumed an upward trajectory despite weak global cues. The cooling of domestic CPI inflation to 6.83% in August and the rise in industrial production data reaffirmed the robustness of the Indian economy," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

The contraction in the UK economy and a rise in oil prices have created a level of uncertainty in the global market. Also, investors await US inflation data, which holds global significance as it will provide insights into the Fed's policy outlook, Nair added.

Retail inflation declined to 6.83% in August after touching a 15-month high of 7.44% in July, mainly due to softening prices of vegetables, but still remains above the Reserve Bank's comfort zone.

India's industrial production growth rose to a five-month high of 5.7% in July, mainly due to good showing by the manufacturing, mining and power sectors, according to official data released on Tuesday.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Shanghai and Hong Kong settled lower while Tokyo ended in the green. European equities were trading lower. The US markets ended in negative territory on Tuesday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.66% to USD 92.56 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,047.19 crore on Tuesday after a day's breather, according to exchange data.

The BSE benchmark had climbed 94.05 points or 0.14% to settle at 67,221.13 on Tuesday. The Nifty, however, pared all its gains and ended marginally lower by 3.15 points or 0.02% at 19,993.20 in a volatile trade.

(With text input from PTI)