Market extends gains, Nifty around 19,200; IT, Auto stocks in focus

Benchmark equity indices scaled fresh all-time closing highs on Friday, propelled by foreign fund inflows and a firm trend in the global markets.

Intense buying in index heavyweights Infosys, HDFC twins, Reliance Industries and TCS further bolstered sentiment, traders said.

Rallying for the third straight day, the 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 803.14 points or 1.26 per cent to settle at its lifetime closing high of 64,718.56. During the day, it zoomed 853.16 points or 1.33 per cent to reach its record intra-day peak of 64,768.58.

The NSE Nifty climbed 216.95 points or 1.14 per cent to end at a record high of 19,189.05. During the day, it rallied 229.6 points or 1.21 per cent to hit its all-time intra-day peak of 19,201.70.

Mahindra & Mahindra was the best performer in the Sensex pack, rising over 4 per cent, followed by IndusInd Bank, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Maruti, Larsen & Toubro, Tech Mahindra, Wipro, Power Grid, HDFC Bank, HDFC, Bajaj Finance and Reliance Industries.

On the other hand, ICICI Bank and NTPC were the laggards.