Mumbai, December 18: Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty surged to fresh highs on Wednesday, tracking gains in index heavyweights HDFC Bank, RIL and ITC amid unabated foreign fund inflows.

After rallying to its record intra-day peak of 41,614.77, the 30-share BSE Sensex settled 206.40 points, or 0.50 per cent, higher at its all-time closing high of 41,558.57.

Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty advanced 56.65 points, or 0.47 per cent, to its record closing high of 12,221.65. M&M was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, surging 3.37 per cent, followed by Sun Pharma 2.53 per cent, Asian Paints 1.88 per cent, ITC 1.66 per cent, HDFC Bank 1.58 per cent and Tech Mahindra 1.51 per cent.

On the other hand, Tata Motors plunged 3.05 per cent after the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on Wednesday ordered restoration of Cyrus Mistry as the Executive Chairman of Tata Sons. NCLAT also held appointment of N Chandrasekaran as Executive Chairman illegal.

Other Tata group stocks including Tata Power, Tata Chemicals and Tata Global Beverages too fell up to 4.14 per cent. HUL, SBI and Yes Bank fell 1.79 per cent each. NTPC, PowerGrid and Bajaj Finance also ended in the red. Besides stock-specific action, sustained foreign fund inflows boosted market mood here, traders said.

On a net basis, foreign institutional investors bought equities worth Rs 728.13 crore, while domestic institutional investors sold shares worth Rs 796.38 crore on Tuesday, data available with stock exchange showed.

Bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Seoul and Tokyo ended on a mixed note, while those in Europe saw tepid trading sentiment. On the currency front, the rupee depreciated 6 paise against the US dollar to 71.05 (intra-day). Brent futures, the global oil benchmark, was fell 0.76 per cent to USD 65.58 per barrel.