New Delhi: Benchmark equity indices rallied in early trade on Friday, with the NSE Nifty hitting a fresh all-time peak, helped by buying in IT stocks and continuous foreign fund inflows.
Among the 30 Sensex companies, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, HCL Technologies, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, Bajaj Finserv, Power Grid and IndusInd Bank were the biggest gainers.
Tata Steel, Hindustan Unilever, Kotak Mahindra Bank and HDFC Bank were among the laggards.
"The market is in a consolidation phase, and this is likely to continue. There are no major triggers for aggressive buying or selling. Even in this consolidation phase the undertone of the market is bullish and, therefore, buying on dips will emerge imparting resilience to the market," said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 0.15 percent to USD 85.58 a barrel.
Sensex climbed 141.34 points or 0.18 percent to settle at a new closing peak of 77,478.93. The Nifty rose 51 points or 0.22 percent to settle at its fresh closing high of 23,567.
In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong were quoting lower.
(PSU Watch– India's Business News centre that places the spotlight on PSUs, Bureaucracy, Defence and Public Policy is now on Google News. Click here to follow. Also, join PSU Watch Channel in your Telegram. You may also follow us on Twitter here and stay updated.)