Benchmark Sensex edged up on the first session of the November derivatives series on Friday to finish at a fresh lifetime high of 33,157 as it signed off the week on a winning note.
The 30-share index scored a hat-trick by finishing at record highs for the third straight session. Encouraging earnings by blue-chips like Maruti Suzuki and beginning of the November futures and options (F&O) series prodded participants to make fresh bets, brokers said.
However, the broader NSE Nifty slipped from record to close at 10,323.05, down 20.75 points, or 0.20 per cent. The Sensex resumed higher at 33,228.32 and surged to an intra-day record of 33,286.51. It finally ended at 33,157.22, up 10.09 points, or 0.03 per cent. For the week, the Sensex recorded handsome gains of 767.26 points or 2.37 per cent -- its best weekly gain since January 27. The Nifty rose 176.50 points, or 1.74 per cent, during the week -- the most since October 13.
“Small and midcap stocks continued to show strength ahead of MSMEs' meeting with the GST Council scheduled on Sunday. Revival in the banking sector seems to have eased the nerves of FIIs and now market will be expectant on further updates on GST implementation in petroleum products and better Q2 numbers,” said Anand James, Chief Market Strategist, Geojit Financial Services.