Sensex at new high on fund inflows; Nifty above 10,600

The BSE Sensex soared to life-time high of 34,331.85 and the NSE Nifty crossed the 10,600 level for the first time in early trade today on strong gains in pharma, IT and banking stocks amid optimism over quarterly earnings by corporates.

Asian markets trading with gains after more records on Wall Street influenced the trading sentiment here.

The 30-share Sensex soared by 178 points, or 0.52 per cent, to 34,331.85 points, breaching its previous record high (intra-day) of 34,188.85 hit on January 5.

The gauge had gained 360.47 points in the previous two sessions.

All the sectoral indices, led by realty, healthcare and infrastructure were trading in the positive zone, rising up to 1.52 per cent

Major gainers that helped both the key indices to scale new highs were Sun Pharma, Yes Bank, Dr Reddy's, l&T, Infosys, HDFC ltd, Power Grid, ONGC, Coal India, ICICI Bank, Indusind Bank, Hero MotoCorp, Tata Steel and Tata Motors, gaining up to 3.72 per cent.

The 50-issue Nifty crossed the 10,600 level for the first time by gaining 46.95 points, or 0.44 per cent, to trade at an all-time high of 10,605.80 surpassing its previous intra-day high of 10,566.10 touched on January 5.

Among 50 Nifty scrips, 42 were trading with gains, led by pharma stocks.

Sentiment remained upbeat on sustained capital inflows and widespread buying by retail investors amid expectations of encouraging third quarterly earnings, to be announced this week, brokers said.

Among Asian markets, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was up 0.01 per cent while Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.39 per cent. Financial markets in Japan are closed today for a public holiday.

The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.88 per cent higher in Friday's trade.