Sensex breaches record 66,000-mark, Nifty scales fresh lifetime high as IT, banking shares advance

Buying in market heavyweight stocks Infosys, ICICI Bank and Tata Consultancy Services also helped markets settle in the positive territory.

Benchmark stock indices hit their record high levels in intra-day trade on Thursday, with Sensex breaching the historic 66,000-mark for the first time following a rally in global markets amid moderating U.S. inflation data.

Buying in market heavyweight stocks Infosys, ICICI Bank and Tata Consultancy Services also helped markets settle in the positive territory.

The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 670.31 points or 1.02% to hit its all-time intra-day peak of 66,064.21. The barometer settled 164.99 points or 0.25% higher at 65,558.89.

The NSE Nifty went up by 29.45 points or 0.15% to close at 19,413.75. During the day, it rallied 182.7 points or 0.94% to reach its lifetime high of 19,567.

"Today’s domestic rally was supported by the contra bet buying of the IT stocks which was supported by stable margins, new generation business opportunities and increase in pricing power due to moderation in USD, as latest U.S. inflation is fast approaching the Fed’s target levels," Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services said.

From the Sensex pack, Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, Bajaj Finserv, Tech Mahindra, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Wipro and Bajaj Finance were among the major gainers.

TCS climbed 2.47% a day after announcing its June quarter earnings.