Indian equity indices ended Friday’s session on a strong note, with the benchmark Nifty scaling a fresh all-time high of 26,328.55.
At the close, the Sensex surged 573.41 points, or 0.67 per cent, to settle at 85,762.01, while the Nifty gained 182 points, or 0.70 per cent, to end at 26,328.55.
During the session, the Nifty 50 touched an intraday record of 26,340 before paring some gains to close at a historic high. The broader market also remained firm, with the BSE Midcap index rising 0.97 per cent and the Smallcap index advancing 0.79 per cent. The overall market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies climbed to over ₹481 lakh crore from nearly ₹477 lakh crore in the previous session.
Among sectoral indices, all ended in the green except FMCG, which declined 1.19 per cent. Realty stocks led the gains with a rise of 1.52 per cent, followed by PSU Bank (1.50 per cent), Metal (1.47 per cent), Consumer Durables (1.17 per cent) and Auto (1.13 per cent). The Nifty Bank index advanced 0.74 per cent, while the Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty Private Bank indices gained 1.08 per cent and 0.56 per cent, respectively.
On the Nifty 50, around 40 stocks ended higher. The top gainers included Coal India (up 7.15 per cent), NTPC (4.56 per cent) and Hindalco Industries (3.53 per cent). The major laggards were ITC (down 3.78 per cent), Kotak Mahindra Bank (1.26 per cent) and Nestle India (1.13 per cent).
Out of 4,371 stocks traded on the BSE, 2,772 advanced, 1,449 declined, while 150 remained unchanged. As many as 185 stocks touched their 52-week highs, whereas 83 stocks hit 52-week lows during intraday trade.
Stocks hitting fresh highs included Reliance Industries, SBI, Maruti Suzuki, Mahindra & Mahindra, and Larsen & Toubro. On the other hand, ITC, Vedant Fashions, eMudhra, Concord Biotech, Cohance Lifesciences and AAVAS Financiers featured among the 52-week low list.
Metal stocks extended their rally for the fourth consecutive session, with National Aluminium Company, Hindustan Copper and others rising up to 5 per cent on strong buying interest.
Shares of Coal India surged over 6 per cent after the company announced that it has approved participation by foreign coal buyers in auction bidding.
Meanwhile, ITC shares fell more than 5 per cent, extending losses for the second straight session, after the government announced an increase in excise duty on cigarettes, effective next month.