New Delhi: Equity benchmark indices continued their winning streak for the fourth day running on Friday, with the Nifty hitting a record high in early trade, driven by favourable macroeconomic data and continuous foreign fund inflows.
The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 308.52 points to 67,296.96 in early trade. The Nifty climbed 96.1 points to 20,229.25. Later, it touched a record high of 20,245.20.
Among the Sensex firms, Larsen & Toubro, NTPC, Asian Paints, Maruti, Sun Pharma, ITC, IndusInd Bank and State Bank of India were the major gainers.
Wipro, HCL Tech, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Titan and Mahindra & Mahindra were among the laggards.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 8,147.85 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.
India retained the tag of the world's fastest-growing major economy, with its GDP expanding by a faster-than-expected rate of 7.6 percent in September quarter on booster shots from government spending and manufacturing.
In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong were quoting lower.
The US markets ended mostly with gains on Thursday.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 0.32 percent to USD 82.83 a barrel.
The BSE benchmark ended 86.53 points or 0.13 percent higher at 66,988.44 on Thursday. The Nifty edged up 36.55 points or 0.18 percent to 20,133.15.
"The market momentum which pushed the Nifty up by 6 percent in November is likely to be sustained since the incoming data and news are positive. First, the Q2 FY24 GDP growth rate at 7.6 percent has surpassed expectations. Second, the exit polls results indicate a high possibility of political stability after the general elections. The market will appreciate this," said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services.
Most exit polls on Thursday put the BJP ahead in Madhya Pradesh and gave it an edge in Rajasthan while predicting that it was advantage Congress in Telangana and Chhattisgarh.
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