Sensex, Nifty hit record highs tracking Asian peers

Markets hit record high: Sensex and Nifty hit record highs just after the open on Friday, tracking gains in regional peers after US economic data eased growth concerns, while investors await domestic quarterly growth data.

The NSE Nifty 50 index rose 0.33 per cent to 25,235.9 as of 9:21 am IST, while the S&P BSE Sensex added 0.33 per cent to 82,396.22, with both the benchmarks hitting all-time highs.

The Nifty has risen for the previous 11 consecutive sessions, marking its longest winning streak in about 17 years, supported by expectations of a US rate cut in September and healthy domestic inflows.

Domestic institutional investors (DII) have purchased shares worth $6.14 billion, on a net basis, so far in August, about twice the net foreign portfolio investors (FPI) outflows.

Asian markets rose, with the MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan up 0.7 per cent. Most Wall Street equities rose overnight, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average at a record closing high, on robust US economic data. 

Market participants now await US core personal consumption expenditures data, the Fed's preferred gauge of inflation, on Friday to confirm bets of the September rate cut. 

Investors also await India's April-June growth data, due after market hours. A Reuters poll showed growth likely slowed to 6.9 per cent year-on-year in the quarter due to reduced government spending because of national elections.

Eleven of the 13 major sectors logged gains. The broader, more domestically focussed small and mid-caps rose about 0.5 per cent each.

Among individual stocks, SpiceJet fell about 4 per cent after India's aviation watchdog placed the budget airline under enhanced surveillance after a recent audit revealed "certain deficiencies".

Sugar stocks like Balrampur Chini Mills , Shree Renuka , Bajaj Hindusthan and Dwarikesh Sugar rose between 3 per cent and 10 per cent after the government said sugar mills could use cane juice or syrup to produce ethanol from November.