For the second straight week, the Sensex rose, notching up a significant gain of 528.34 points, or 1.59 per cent. The Nifty was up 129.45 points, or 1.25 per cent, during the week.
It was another day of records for stocks on Friday as benchmarks Sensex and Nifty crossed new milestones, riding on positive PMI data and more capital inflows.
Services sector activity in India expanded for the second consecutive month in October, driven up by rising new orders -- the fastest pace since June -- amid positive demand conditions, according to a monthly PMI (Purchasing Managers' Index) survey.
Global leads turned for the better after appointment of Federal Reserve Governor Jerome Powell as the new chief of the US central bank and the unveiling of tax reforms by House Republicans in Washington.
Earnings optimism among investors grew, too.
The 30-share BSE index firmed up to an all-time intra-day high of 33,733.71 on a flurry of buying before closing at a record 33,685.56, up 112.34 points, or 0.33 per cent. The previous closing record was 33,600.27 hit on November 1.
Yesterday, the barometer had fallen 27.05 points.
The 50-share Nifty touched a fresh high of 10,461.70 during the day and settled up 28.70 points, or 0.28 per cent, at 10,452.50, a new peak, surpassing its previous record of 10,440.50 on November 1.
For the second straight week, the Sensex rose, notching up a significant gain of 528.34 points, or 1.59 per cent. The Nifty was up 129.45 points, or 1.25 per cent, during the week.
Interest rate-sensitive financial and realty stocks stood out. Punjab National Bank rose 5.07 per cent after the state-owned lender today reported a modest rise in quarterly net profit.
Largest public lender SBI was the leader of the Sensex gainers' pack, rising 3.19 per cent to close at Rs 325, followed by Tata Motors 2.78 per cent. L&T, Axis Bank, ONGC and Cipla too chipped in.
PowerGrid, Sun Pharma, Coal India, Hero MotoCorp and Lupin, however, ended in the red.
According to provisional data released by the stock exchanges, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 1,032.88 crore while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold shares to the tune of Rs 456.51 crore on Thursday.
BSE capital goods index hit a home run, up 1.09 per cent, followed by banking, PSU and realty.
While the small-cap index added 0.49 per cent, mid-cap dropped 0.07 per cent.
Asian shares logged a mixed trend and Europe had a positive opening. Japanese financial markets were closed today for a public holiday.
Photograph: Danish Siddiqui/Reuters
