Sensex hits all-time high; Nifty breaches 11,000-mark

Healthy start to corporate earnings lifted benchmark indices above their recent milestones on Thursday.

The BSE Sensex surged 211.07 points to hit all-time high of 36,477-mark and the NSE Nifty index surged 64.15 points at 11,012.45 in early trade on Thursday. 

Out of 30 BSE Sensex stocks, twenty-six Sensex stocks started on higher note on Thursday. The major gainers of the early trade were  Reliance, Yes Bank, Kotak Bank, Asian Paints, SBIN and Coal India.

On Wednesday, BSE Sensex opened 59.64 points higher, but soon turned choppy in early trade, as investors cashed profits in metal, healthcare, PSU and auto stocks, amid weak Asian cues after US-China trade spat escalated.

After opening on a positive note, the BSE 30-share barometer dropped by 56.15 points, or 0.15 per cent, to 36,183.47 led by fall in index majors Hero Motorcorp, Vedanta, Coal India and RIL shares.

The gauge had rallied 665.07 points in the previous three sessions on sustained buying by domestic institutional investors (DIIs).

However, a rise in shares of index heavyweight TCS capped Sensex losses, after the IT major posted reported better-than-expected earnings. It was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising 2.02 per cent to Rs 1,915. 

The NSE Nifty index also fell by 17.40 points, or 0.16 per cent, at 10,929.85.