India's NSE index ended at a record closing high on Monday, coming within striking distance of breaching the 10,000 mark for the first time ever, as Reliance Industries Ltd and HDFC Bank gained after their recent earnings. The broader NSE index ended up 0.52 percent at 9,966.40, its highest close ever, while the benchmark BSE index ended 0.68 percent up at an all-time closing high of 32,245.87.
Reliance Industries was up 1.91 percent while HDFC Bank gained 1.88 percent. Reliance was the leading gainer, advancing as much as 2.5 percent to its highest since January 15, 2008, after the oil-to-telecoms conglomerate posted better-than-expected earnings and unveiled a low-cost 4G-enabled phone last week. But indexes could struggle to post stronger gains in the near term as analysts warned investors would likely enter a consolidation phase as more companies report earnings, including HDFC Bank Ltd later in the day.
"The process of consolidation is likely to continue. We will see more stock-specific moves coming through depending on how corporate results unfold," said Gaurang Shah, head investment strategist at Geojit Financial Services. Among other gainers, Lupin Ltd rose as much as 2.8 percent after the US health regulator cleared inspection of the company's Goa facility with no adverse observations. Bharti Airtel Ltd gained 1.5 percent, recovering from Friday's 2 percent decline, as analysts said the impact from the unveiling of the JioPhone would not be as bad as initially feared. Meanwhile, strong quarterly results helped lift stocks such as Vijaya Bank and Jammu and Kashmir Bank. Vijaya Bank rose over 2.5 percent while Jammu and Kashmir Bank gained 6.5 percent.