Markets hit record highs; Sensex crosses 70,000 mark, Nifty surges to 21,000

The Indian stock markets witnessed a bullish start on Thursday as the Sensex soared to 70,155.11, gaining 570.51 points, and the Nifty reached a record high at 21,089.60, marking an increase of 163.25 points.

In the morning session, the Nifty Bank exhibited strong performance, trading at 47,554.70, with an impressive surge of 462.45 points, equivalent to a 0.98 percent increase.

Among the gainers in the Sensex pack during the morning session were ICICI Bank, TCS, HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra, and Infosys. On the flip side, PowerGrid, Nestle India, Asian Paints, Sun Pharma, and Hindustan Unilever were among the major losers.

On Wednesday, the indices closed with the Sensex up by 33.57 points or 0.05 percent, reaching 69,584.60, while the Nifty rose by 19.90 points or 0.10 percent to 20,926.30.

Asian markets also opened with gains on Thursday. Japan's Nikkei 225 dropped slightly by 64.32 points, reaching 32,862.03. Hong Kong's Hang Seng surged by 230.79 points, currently sitting at 16,459.54, while South Korea's KOSPI increased by 34.66 points, reaching 2,545.32. India's Nifty stood at 21,226.50, showing a gain of 201.05 points.

In the early hours of Asian trade on Thursday, there was a notable increase in oil prices. Brent futures climbed by 46 cents, marking a 0.6 percent rise, settling at USD 74.72 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude experienced a 48-cent increase, marking a 0.7 percent upturn, settling at USD 69.95.