Indian shares hit record highs

Indian shares hit record closing highs on Tuesday, led by a surge in Bajaj Finserv (BJFS.NS) after the market regulator allowed the shadow bank to set up a mutual fund, while metal stocks bounced back after a four-day losing streak.

The blue-chip NSE Nifty 50 index (.NSEI) ended up 0.78 per cent at 16,624.60, and the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex (.BSESN) ended 0.73 per cent higher at 55,958.98.

Shares of Bajaj Finserv (BJFS.NS) jumped as much as 8.6 per cent to hit a record high before ending up 7.7 per cent. Shares of peer Bajaj Finance (BJFN.NS) also ended higher, at 3.38 per cent.

The Nifty Bank index (.NSEBANK) advanced 1.67 per cent, driven by a 2.3 per cent gain in HDFC Bank (HDBK.NS). The financial services index (.NIFTYFIN) rose 1.39 per cent. The Nifty metals index (.NIFTYMET) ended the session up 2.9 per cent.

India’s Nifty Smallcap 100 and Nifty Midcap 100 ended the day 2 per cent and 1.43 per cent higher.

Among other stocks, shares of India’s Optiemus Electronics (OPTI.NS) rose 4.9 per cent after it partnered with Taiwan’s Wistron Corp (3231.TW) to build smartphones and laptops. The partnership is expected to yield revenues of 380 billion rupees ($5.13 billion) over five years for Optiemus, the company said.

Shares of ABB India (ABB.NS) ended 1.31 per cent higher after the company said it had expanded manufacturing capacity for low voltage motors by 20 per cent at its Faridabad facility, which is powered by renewable energy.