The stock market closed on a positive note on Thursday amid volatility. The Nifty finished above 23,550 led by metal, oil & gas, and realty stocks.

Sensex opened at a record high of 77,543.22 and closed at 77,337.59, up 36.45 points, or 0.05%.

The index created a fresh all-time high of 77,851.63, as investors piled onto banking stocks.

However, it also touched a low of 76,954.87, as traders booked profit at record high levels.

The Nifty 50 opened at a record high of 23,629.85 and closed at 23,516, down 41.90 points, or 0.18%.

It touched another record high at 23,664.00 before falling into the red as investors booked profits.

On the 30-pack Sensex, Titan, Maruti Suzuki India, Bharti Airtel, Larsen & Toubro, and NTPC, were the top drags, while Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, IndusInd Bank, ICICI Bank, and Kotak Mahindra Bank remained the top gainers.

However, on the Nifty 50, 39 stocks closed in the red, with Titan, Maruti Suzuki India, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Auto, and BPCL being the top drags.

Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank, and Kotak Mahindra Bank remained the top gainers.

The BSE SmallCap index closed down 0.58% and the BSE MidCap ended 0.91% lower.

Among the sectors, selling was seen in the auto, pharma, and PSU Banks stocks, while buying was seen in metal, capital goods, realty, and oil & gas.

The Indian rupee ended at a record closing low of 83.64 per dollar on Thursday, compared to Wednesday’s close of 83.45.

Fertiliser stocks, including state-run National Fertilisers (NFL), Chambal Fertilisers, RCF, and others zoomed up to 20 per cent, extending gains from the previous session, following reports of a proposal to remove Goods and Services Tax (GST) on fertilisers.

The shares of Muthoot Finance jumped over 4% to Rs 252 apiece after UK-based brokerage firm Investec shared a ‘buy’ rating on the counter amid a strong growth outlook and set the target price at Rs 350 apiece.

Morgan Stanley has anticipated a robust 15.3% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in India’s infrastructure investments, projecting total expenditures of $1.45 trillion over the next five years.

It projected India’s infrastructure investment to steadily increase from 5.3% of GDP in Fiscal Year 2024 to 6.5% of GDP by Fiscal Year 2029.

At the global front, futures contracts for the Euro Stoxx 50 climbed 0.2%, while the MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 1%, buoyed by the tech-heavy markets of South Korea and Taiwan.

However, the S&P 500 futures were little changed. Hong Kong stocks rebounded to lead the gains in the region.