Sensex, Nifty hit fresh record highs paced by gains in Maruti Suzuki, ITC

The Indian equity benchmarks edged higher on Thursday ahead of monthly expiry of September futures and option contracts. The Sensex rose as much as 149 points to hit record high of 85,318.99 and Nifty 50 index hit an all-time high of 26,049.85 led by gains in index heavyweights like Maruti Suzuki , Nestle , Tata Motors, Tech Mahindra , Bajaj Finserv and HCL Technologies.

As of 9:24 am, the Sensex was up 147 points at 85,317 and Nifty 50 index advanced 39 points to 26,043.

Most of the Asian markets were trading higher with Japan's Nikkei rising 2.4 per cent. China's Shanghai Composite advanced 0.87 per cent, South Korea's KOSPI jumped 2.05 per cent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng climbed 1.68 per cent.

Overnight, Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 closed lower on Wednesday, pulling back from recent record highs driven by China's sweeping stimulus package, as investors awaited economic indicators and signals on upcoming interest rate cuts.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 293.47 points, or 0.70 per cent, to 41,914.75. The S&P 500 lost 10.67 points, or 0.19 per cent, at 5,722.26 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 7.68 points, or 0.04 per cent, at 18,082.21.

Eight of 13 sector gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange were trading higher led by the Nifty FMCG index's 0.45 per cent gain. Nifty Realty, IT, Media, Healthcare and Financial Services indices were also trading higher.

On the other hand, auto, metal, PSU bank, consumer durables and oil & gas shares were facing selling pressure.

Mid- and small-cap shares were facing selling pressure as Nifty Midcap 100 index fell 0.22 per cent and Nifty Smallcap 100 index declined 0.30 per cent.

Among the individual shares, PB Fintech fell over 5 per cent to Rs 1,630 after reports suggested that the company plans to enter the healthcare space.

ASK Automotive dropped 4 per cent on reports that its promoters are likely to sell 6.05 per cent stake in the company through offer for sale.

Maruti Suzuki was top Nifty gainer, the stock rose 1.85 per cent to Rs 13,022. Wipro , Tata Motors, LTI Mindtree, SBI Life, Tata Consumer Products, HCL Technologies, Nestle India, tech Mahindra , ITC, Infosys and TCS also rose between 0.7-1 per cent.

On the flipside, Hero MotoCorp, ONGC , power Grid, Hindalco, NTPC, Tata Steel, JSW Steel and Coal India were among the losers.

The overall market breadth was neutral as 1,457 shares were advancing while 1,516 shares were declining on the BSE.