Mumbai, Dec 16: Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty scaled new highs in opening deals on Wednesday as participants cheered improved domestic macro-economic indicators and positive trends in global markets.

The BSE gauge Sensex surged 288.55 points or 0.62 per cent to trade at 46,551.72; while the NSE barometer Nifty climbed 82.70 points or 0.61 per cent to 13,650.55 in early deals – record highs for both benchmarks.

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In the Sensex pack, Mahindra and Mahindra, Asian Paints, Tata Steel, Bajaj Finance, ONGC and HDFC were the prominent gainers.

On the other hand, HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra, HUL, Bharti Airtel and ICICI Bank were trading in the red.

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Both Sensex and Nifty had ended with marginal gains on Tuesday. Market experts said that Indian equities continued to trade at record-high levels, gaining confidence from improving domestic macro-economic indicators and positive global market outlook.

Asian stocks were trading higher on account of US economic stimulus optimism. S&P Global Ratings on Tuesday raised India's growth projection for the current fiscal to (-) 7.7 per cent from (-) 9 per cent estimated earlier on rising demand and falling COVID-19 infection rates.

Retail inflation declined to 6.93 per cent in November on softer food prices, though it remained above the comfort level of the Reserve Bank, official data showed.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) were net buyers in the capital markets as they purchased shares worth Rs 2,484.09 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.

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