Stock Market At New High: Sensex Rises 150 Points, Nifty Around 20,150. Metals, IT Lead

Stock update: On the 30-share Sensex platform, Tata Motors, HCL, M&M, HDFC Bank, Wipro, Sun Pharma were among the early gainers

The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Friday scaled new highs for a second day, tracking strength across global markets. At 9.40 am, the BSE Sensex jumped 154 points to 67,673. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty50 index was trading at 20,148, up 45 points.

On the 30-share Sensex platform, Tata Motors, HCL, M&M, HDFC Bank, Wipro, Sun Pharma were among the early gainers. On the downside, Asian Paints, HUL, Titan, Nestle, Axis Bank, IndusInd Bank emerged losers. Among specific stocks, Shakti Pump gained12 per cent on receiving Rs 293-crore order from the government for 10,000 pumps.

In the broader markets, the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices rose up to 0.7 per cent.

Sectorwise, Nifty Metals, IT, and Auto indices led gains, while FMCG, Media and PSB pockets lagged with losses.

In the previous session on Thursday, the S&P BSE Sensex ended at 67,519, up 52 points, while the NSE Nifty50 settled at 20,103, up 33 points.

"The participation of blue chips like Infosys, RIL, L&T, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank has imparted resilience to the ongoing rally. Even though the undercurrent of the market is bullish the high valuations and new risks like surging crude and rising dollar index can impact the market negatively. Brent crude at USD 94 is a major macro worry which the market cannot ignore for long," V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, said.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai, and Hong Kong were trading with gains. The US markets ended in positive territory on Thursday.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) turned buyers on Thursday as they bought equities worth Rs 294.69 crore, according to exchange data.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.82 per cent to $94.47 a barrel.

Meanwhile, the rupee witnessed range-bound trading against the US dollar in early trade on Friday, as the support from positive domestic equities was negated by elevated crude oil prices and strong American currency.

Forex traders said the dollar strengthened post the release of the US inflation number that was reported higher-than-expectation and weighed on the domestic unit.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee was trading in a narrow range. It opened at 83.02 against the dollar. It touched a low of 83.07 against the American currency in initial trade, down 4 paise from its previous close. On Thursday, the rupee closed 2 paise lower at 83.03 against the US dollar.