Sensex ends 174 pts up, Nifty near 15,800; IT, pharma indices hit new peaks

Stock market updates: Market bulls rode the global momentum on Dalal Street on Friday, hitting new lifetime highs on the way. Bond yields in the US and Euro zone fell, with German 10-year yields set for their biggest fall this year, as investors bet on ultra-lose monetary policy to stay in place. 

Data published on Thursday showed that the US consumer price index swelled the most in a month since August 2008 at 5 per cent, following a 4.2 per cent rise in April. Yet global stocks hit record peaks as investors believed the Federal Reserve would continue to keep interest rates low to maintain the recovery pace. 

Moreover, the European Central Bank's statement that a policy tightening at this stage would be premature and would pose a risk to the ongoing economic recovery further lent support to the bullish sentiment on the Street.

The third factor adding to global rally was data from the UK which showed that Britain's economic output grew by 2.3 cent on a monthly basis in April, marking the fastest growth since July last year.

Globally, the Euro STOXX 600 added 0.3 per cent, London shares gained 0.6 per cent, while Paris climbed 0.4 per cent. In Asia, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was last up 0.4 per cent.

Backed by firm global cues, the frontline S&P BSE Sensex hit an all-time-high of 52,641.5 while the broader Nifty50 index claimed 15,835.5-mark in morning deals. In the broader markets, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices, too, touched new peaks of 23,045 and 25,249 levels, respectively.

That said, a fag-end weakness in banking, realty, and FMCG counters dragged the markets off highs. By close, the BSE barometer was at 52,475 levels, up 174 points or 0.33 per cent while the 50-share Nifty index ended at 15,799 levels, up 62 points or 0.39 per cent.

The BSE MidCap index, on the other hand, closed 0.14 per cent up while the BSE SmallCap index ended 0.4 per cent higher.

Sectorally, the Nifty Metal index zoomed nearly 3 per cent on the NSE, followed by the Nifty IT and Pharma indices, up over 1 per cent higher each. On the downside, the Nifty Realty and PSU Bank indices slipped up to 1 per cent.