Benchmark Sensex finished above the 37,000-mark for the first time, while the NSE Nifty too breached the historic 11,200-level today on widespread buying led by consumption and capital goods stocks.
The BSE Sensex vaulted over 352 points today to wrap up a stellar week -- during which it finished at fresh lifetime highs for each of the five trading sessions.
Barring the BSE IT index, all other sectoral indices ended in the green.
ITC was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, surging 5.24 per cent, after it posted a 10 per cent increase in standalone net profit for the June quarter. ITC went past FMCG major Hindustan Unilever to become the country's fourth most valued firm in terms of market valuation.
Better-than-expected quarterly earnings by select index heavyweights, easing of US-EU trade tensions and firm foreign capital inflows ensured that investor sentiment remains skewed towards equities, brokers said.
Opening on a firm footing, the 30-share Sensex hit a new intra-day peak of 37,368.62.
It finally settled at 37,336.85, up 352.21 points, or 0.95 per cent -- breaching its previous closing record of 36,984.64 reached yesterday.
It has taken the Sensex six months (January 23-July 27) to advance to the 37,000-level from 36,000.
Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty touched a new intra-day high of 11,283.40, before closing at a record 11,278.35 -- showing a gain of 111.05 points, or 0.99 per cent.
It bettered its previous record close of 11,167.30 reached in yesterday's trade.
For the week, the Sensex recorded a significant rise of 840.48 points, or 2.30 per cent while the Nifty gained 268.15 points, or 2.44 per cent.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 2,453.57 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold equities worth Rs 2,716.04 crore yesterday, provisional data showed.
"Growth and earnings outlook is showing signs of pickup which elevated the market to a new high. On the global front, ECB kept the key rates on hold while signs of ease in trade tensions between US and EU added some confidence.
"Notably, mid-caps also participated in the rally as worst of earnings seems to be over. However, valuations remain on higher side as compared to large-caps," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.
Other gainers in the Sensex pack included Tata Motors 3.56 per cent, Tata Steel 2.71 per cent, ICICI Bank 2.62 per cent, Bajaj Auto 2.24 per cent, Axis Bank 1.85 per cent, Hero MotoCorp 1.79 per cent, RIL 1.73 per cent, Bharti Airtel 1.23 per cent, Vedanta 1.15 per cent and HDFC 1.02 per cent.
The major losers were Power Grid 1.72 per cent, Adani Ports 1.44 per cent, Coal India 1.04 per cent, TCS 1.03 per cent, Maruti Suzuki 0.86 per cent, ONGC 0.71 per cent, HUL 0.64 per cent, M&M 0.36 per cent, Infosys, 0.05 and SBI 0.03 per cent.
Sector-wise, the BSE FMCG index gained the most by rising 2.04 per cent, followed by consumer durables 2.03 per cent, metal 1.89 per cent, oil and gas 1.69 per cent, telecom 1.25 per cent, bankex 1.04 per cent, finance 0.94 per cent, PSU 0.79 per cent, auto 0.75 per cent, infrastructure 0.65 per cent, capital goods 0.63 per cent, realty 0.55 per cent, healthcare 0.45 per cent, power 0.32 per cent and teck 0.08 per cent.
Mid-cap and small-cap indices continued to be on investors' radar, rising up to 0.95 per cent.
Metal stocks gained following a series of steps by China to spur growth. China is the world's largest consumer of steel, copper and aluminum.
Hindalco Industries rose 3.51 per cent, a day after the company announced acquisition of American aluminium maker Aleris in a USD 2.58-billion leveraged deal through its overseas subsidiary Novelis.
Coming to the global markets, most Asian markets ended mixed while European shares were up in their early deals amid signs of rapprochement between the US and EU in their trade dispute.
The European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged and affirmed its plan to end its monthly bond-buying program in December, as had been expected. ECB President Mario Draghi said that uncertainty around the inflation outlook was receding.
In the Asian region, Japan's Nikkei rose 0.56 per cent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng inched up 0.08 per cent. Shanghai Composite Index, however, fell 0.30 per cent and Singapore lost 0.11 per cent.
European shares were in better shape in their late morning deals. Frankfurt's DAX was up 0.55 per cent, while Paris CAC 40 gained 0.24 per cent. London's FTSE too was up 0.53 per cent.
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