The S&P BSE Sensex trimmed its initial gains but was trading still up by over 64 points to 28,849.31, while the broader CNX Nifty was maintaining the 8,700-level in late morning deals on bouts of buying in key bluechips amid higher Asian cues.
Bullish sentiments continued to underpin the sentiment on the back of overall macro outlook and optimism over forthcoming budget.
Banking, realty, capital goods, auto, consumer durables and IT sectors continued to garner buying support, while metals, FMCG, healthcare and oil & gas segments witnessed profit-booking at higher levels.
The Sensex resumed higher at 28,843.85 and rallied to a life-time high of 28,958.10, before quoting at 28,849.31 at 1100 hours -- up 64.64 points, or 0.22 per cent, from its previous close.
The CNX 50-share Nifty also touched a new peak of 8,738.60. It was trading at 8,706.50, higher by 10.90 points, or 0.13 per cent, at 1100 hours.
Meanwhile, Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 1,275.59 crore on yesterday as per provisional data.
Major gainers were Bharti Airtel (3.27 pct), SBI (2.53 pct), HDFC (2.46 pct), Maruti (2.00 pct), Sun Pharma (1.49 pct), Bajaj Auto (1.29 pct) and L&T (1.27 pct).
Notable losers were SSLT (2.97 pct), Hindalco (2.29 pct), Tata Steel (1.59 pct), BHEL (1.42 pct), Tata Motors (1.36 pct) and ITC (1.24 pct).
Asian stocks were trading mostly higher. Key benchmark indices in China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore and Taiwan were up by 0.21 pct to 2.23 pct. Key benchmark indices in South Korea and Japan were down by 0.21 pct to 0.45 pct.
