Sensex rises over 300 points to hit fresh all-time high; Nifty trades near 21,300; IRFC, Infibeam jump up to 8%

Indian equity benchmarks continue to rise and touched their fresh all-time high levels in Friday's trade. The domestic indices were up led by strong gains in metals and information technology (IT) stocks. The 30-share BSE Sensex pack surged 339 points to hit a lifetime high of 70,853.56 while the broader NSE Nifty index moved 115 points up to touch a record high of 21,298.15. Broader market (small- and mid-cap shares) were also positive as Nifty Midcap 100 rose 0.38 per cent and small-cap gained 0.46 per cent. India VIX, fear index, fell 0.664 per cent to 12.24-level.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought Indian shares worth Rs 3,570.07 crore on a net basis during the previous session and domestic institutional investors (DIIs) purchased shares worth Rs 553.17 crore.

13 out of the 15 sector gauges -- compiled by the NSE -- were trading in the green. Sub-indexes Nifty Metal and Nifty IT were outperforming the NSE platform by rising as much as 1.43 per cent and 0.81 per cent, respectively. However, Nifty Financial Services slipped today.

On the stock-specific front, Hindalco was the top gainer in the Nifty pack as the stock jumped 2.86 per cent to trade at Rs 558.65. JSW Steel, UPL, Tata Steel and Infosys gained up to 1.70 per cent.

In contrast, HDFC Life, Nestle India, Axis Bank, BPCL and UltraTech Cement were among the top laggards.

The overall market breadth was positive as 1,957 shares were advancing while 751 were declining on BSE.

On the 30-share BSE index, Infosys Ltd, Reliance Industries, TCS, Tata Steel, ICICI Bank, ITC and JSW Steel were among the top gainers.

Also, Indian Railway Finance Corporation Ltd (IRFC), Brigade Enterprises, Infibeam Avenues, Amber Enterprises India and National Aluminium Co surged up to 7.67 per cent. On the flipside, Max Financial Services, Suzlon Energy, HDFC Life, Prestige Estates, Max Healthcare and Macrotech Developer fell up to 3.61 per cent.

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