The benchmark Sensex closed above the 37,000-mark for the first time ever on Friday, which also marked the fourth straight session of the index hitting new highs.
Gains in select index heavyweights along with a liquidity push from domestic institutional investors continued to propel the benchmarks even as the broader market continues to trade well below the highs touched early this year.
ITC gains
The 30-share Sensex rose 352.21 points, or 0.95%, to close at a record 37,336.85 with 21 of its constituents gaining ground. Shares of ITC gained 5.24% on Friday, a day after the company reported a 10% rise in the June quarter net profit.
Tata Motors, Tata Steel, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Auto and Axis Bank all gained more than 2% each. on Friday.
The 50-share Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) gained 111.05 points, or 0.99%, to close at 11,278.35.
“Large caps have continued to do well with the front line indices touching all-time highs,” said Siddhartha Khemka, head - retail research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services.
“The broader market has underperformed sharply... we believe that this divergence between large and mid-caps may continue for some more time.
“Mid-caps still trade at a premium of 20-25% to the Nifty in terms of P/E and thus, could be vulnerable in a volatile market,” added Mr. Khemka.
On the BSE, a total of 1,665 stocks gained on Friday against 970 declines. All the broader indices also ended in the green on Friday, though they have underperformed the benchmark Sensex by a wide margin in the current year till date.