Domestic markets returned to winning ways on Friday after two days of declines as strong buying in IT stocks ahead of TCS' results propelled benchmarks to fresh lifetime highs amid a bullish trend overseas.
A recovering rupee and foreign fund inflows further buoyed sentiment, traders said.
The 30-share BSE Sensex sprinted 689.19 points or 1.43 per cent to close at a record 48,782.51. It touched an all-time peak of 48,854.34 during the session.
Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty rallied 209.90 points or 1.48 per cent to close at its new lifetime high of 14,347.25. During the day, the index scaled a record level of 14,367.30.
Maruti was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rallying 5.94 per cent, followed by Tech Mahindra, Infosys, UltraTech Cement, M&M, PowerGrid and NTPC.
On the other hand, IndusInd Bank, Bharti Airtel, SBI, ITC, HDFC and Bajaj Finance slipped up to 1.37 per cent.
During the week, the Sensex rallied 913.53 points or 1.90 per cent, while the Nifty soared 328.75 points or 2.34 per cent.
According to Binod Modi, Head-Strategy at Reliance Securities, growing expectations of stronger fiscal stimulus in the US after Congress confirmed President-elect Joe Biden's victory fuelled equities globally.
"Markets completely downplayed earlier concerns of reversal of lower tax rates in the scenario of Democrats taking control of both the houses of Congress," he added.
A sustained rebound in key economic data for December 2020 and likely commencement of vaccination drive shortly in India augur well for domestic equities, he said, adding that the underlying strength of domestic equities is intact, which essentially can propel benchmark indices to witness fresh highs in coming weeks.
"FPIs are unlikely to turn net sellers... considering the status of global economy, stance of global central bankers and weak dollar," he stated.
Sector-wise, BSE IT, auto, teck, utilities, oil and gas, realty and capital goods indices surged as much as 3.55 per cent, while metal and telecom were in the red.
Broader BSE midcap and smallcap indices advanced up to 1.01 per cent.
Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul ended with significant gains, while Shanghai was in the red.
Stock exchanges in Europe were also trading on a positive note in early deals.
Meanwhile, the global oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.59 per cent higher at USD 54.70 per barrel.
The Indian rupee rose 7 paise to finish at 73.24 against the US dollar.
Foreign investors bought shares worth Rs 382.30 crore on a net basis on Thursday, according to provisional exchange data.
