Indian shares close at record highs -

BENGALURU, Aug 4 : Indian shares closed higher on Wednesday, led by financial and banking stocks, while State Bank of India surged to an all-time high after the country's largest lender by assets reported a record quarterly profit. The NSE Nifty 50 index ended 0.79 per cent higher at 16,258.80 and the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex rose 1 per cent to 54,369.77. Analysts said the blue-chip Nifty 50 index's breakout above the key psychological 16,000-level boosted investor sentiment and brought fresh buying into the market. The Nifty Bank index, which shed more than 3 per cent in the past two weeks, added 2.3 per cent on Wednesday. The Nifty Financial Services Index rose 2.6 per cent. HDFC Ltd and Kotak Mahindra Bank were the top gainers on the Nifty 50 index, rising 4.75 per cent and 3.81 per cent, respectively.

— Reuters