Maintaining a positive bias, equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty inched higher in early trade on Thursday.
Top BSE Sensex gainers include index majors Reliance Industries, HDFC twins and ICICI Bank amid persistent foreign fund inflows and largely positive trend in global markets.
After touching its lifetime intra-day high of 46,778.51 in the morning session, the 30-share BSE index was trading 32.27 points or 0.07 per cent higher at 46,698.73.
Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty rose 11 points or 0.08 per cent to 13,693.70. It hit a high of 13,713.55 in early trade.
Out of 30 Sensex stocks, 18 scrips were ruling in the red with ITC as the top laggard, followed by Bajaj-Auto, Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL), Asian Paints, SBI, HCL Tech and Maruti Suzuki.
UltraTech Cement was the top gainer, rising around 1 per cent, followed by Sun Pharma, IndusInd Bank, Reliance Industries and HDFC.
On the other hand, ITC, HCL Tech, L&T, HUL and SBI were among the laggards.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) were net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth Rs 1,981.77 crore on a net basis on Wednesday, according to provisional exchange data.
Domestic equities are looking flat at the moment mainly on soft cues from Asian markets, said Binod Modi, Head- Strategy at Reliance Securities, adding that better prospects of earning recovery, dismal interest rate scenario and strong FPIs participation led markets to see record highs.
US equities finished mostly higher after the Federal Reserve maintained its dovish tone and reassured to maintain ultra-low interest rates and continuous asset purchase until the economy makes substantial progress, Modi said. (with PTI inputs)
