The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Wednesday were trading higher amid weak global sentiment. At 10.05 am, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 230 points to 63,558. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty was trading at 18,864, up 47 points. The Sensex hit an all-time high after 137 trading sessions, crosses 63,583.10 previous hit on December 1, 2022.


On the 30-share Sensex platform, PowerGrid, L&T, HUL, HDFC Bank, Wipro, HDFC emerged lead gainers. On the downside, Sun Pharma, Tata Motors, Tata Steel, Asian Paints, Bajaj Finance, Axis Bank were among the losers. Among specific stocks, shares of Shriram Finance were locked in the 10 per cent upper circuit after over 8 per cent equity changed hands in early deals via block deals. Those of Piramal Enterprises were also locked in the 10 per cent upper circuit which is the likely seller of its entire stake in Shriram Finance.


In the broader markets, the S&P BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices jumped 0.97 per cent and 0.7 per cent, respectively.


Sectorally, realty sector is leading, while metals are on the losing front.


In the previous session on Tuesday, the BSE Sensex closed at 63,328, up 159 points, while the NSE Nifty50 reclaimed the 18,800-mark and settled higher by 61 points to 18,817.


"It is important to understand that this is a global rally with most markets, US, Euro Zone, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, vering around 52-week highs...Globally markets are bullish even when global growth is sluggish. The reason for this bullish trend is that the US recession, which markets had discounted last year, didn't happen and there are indications that the US might avoid a recession. So, markets are correcting the wrong discounting of last year," V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, said.


In Asian markets, Tokyo quoted in the green, while Seoul, Shanghai, and Hong Kong were trading lower. The US markets ended lower on Tuesday.


Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.26 per cent to $76.09 a barrel.


Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,942.62 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.


Meanwhile, the rupee slipped by 1 paisa to 82.10 against the US dollar in early trade on Wednesday, tracking the strong dollar and withdrawal of foreign funds from domestic equities. An upward movement in crude price also weighed on the local unit, forex traders said.


At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened lower at 82.13 but regained further to touch the peak of 82.07. The currency later turned flat and traded at 82.10 against the greenback, registering a fall of 1 paisa from its previous close. On Tuesday, the rupee settled at 82.09 against the dollar.