Sensex, Nifty hit fresh lifetime highs on buying in blue-chips HDFC Bank, Reliance

Sensex and Nifty hit their new closing lifetime highs on Friday

Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty hit their new closing lifetime highs on Friday, following buying in market heavyweights HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries and Mahindra & Mahindra amid encouraging export data.

However, foreign capital outflows amid lack of fresh triggers capped sharp gains, traders said.

Rising for the third straight session, the 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 181.87 points or 0.24% to settle at a new closing peak of 76,992.77. During the day, it jumped 270.4 points or 0.35% to 77,081.30.

The NSE Nifty rallied 66.70 points or 0.29% to hit a record closing high of 23,465.60. Intra-day, it rose 91.5 points or 0.39% to hit a fresh all-time high of 23,490.40.

On a weekly basis, the BSE benchmark climbed 299.41 points or 0.39%, while the Nifty advanced 175.45 points or 0.75%.

“There is a temporary blip in the market momentum, due to a lack of fresh triggers after the hawkish commentary from the U.S. Fed, lowering the plausibility of a rate cut in the short-term. A near-term consolidation seems probable as domestic investors await cues from the upcoming union budget,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.

Among the 30 Sensex companies, Mahindra & Mahindra, Titan, HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries, UltraTech Cement, Bajaj Finance, Axis Bank, Tata Motors and Asian Paints were the biggest gainers.