MUMBAI: Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty maintained their winning run on Thursday, beginning the day on a firm note, propelled by buying in IT stocks amid a rally in the US markets and fresh foreign fund inflows.
Rallying for the fifth day running, the 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex climbed 242.54 points to 81,198.87 in early trade. The NSE Nifty went up by 72.5 points to 24,539.95.
From the 30-share pack, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Bharti Airtel, UltraTech Cement, Titan, Tech Mahindra, Adani Ports and Bajaj Finance were the biggest gainers.
NTPC, JSW Steel, Asian Paints and HDFC Bank were among the laggards.
US markets ended in the positive territory on Wednesday.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 1,797.60 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.
"Dow moving past 45,000 for the first time is an indicator of the strength of the US market rally. The macro construct in the US - strong growth and declining inflation support this rally. The Fed chief Powell’s remark yesterday that the 'economy is in remarkably good shape' is a shot in the arm for the US bulls," V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services, said.
FIIs turning buyers is positive for markets, particularly for large caps, he added.
In Asian markets, Tokyo and Shanghai traded higher while Seoul and Hong Kong quoted lower.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude went up 0.08 per cent to USD 72.37 a barrel.
The BSE barometer climbed 110.58 points or 0.14 per cent to settle at 80,956.33 on Wednesday. The Nifty went up marginally by 10.30 points or 0.04 per cent to 24,467.45.