Benchmark indices closed higher for the day with auto, banking, pharma, and mid- and small-cap healthcare sectors performing well.

Nifty 50 was up 83.95 points, or 0.33%, while the Sensex rose 257.11 points or 0.31%.

Nifty 50 hit a fresh record high of 25,268.35, while the Sensex scaled a fresh peak of 82,637.03 during the session.

On a monthly scale, the Nifty 50 rose 1.1%, and the Sensex climbed 0.80%, extending the gains into the third consecutive week.

On Nifty 50, shares of Cipla (2.23%), Bajaj Finance (2.07%), and Mahindra and Mahindra (1.97%) ended as the top gainers.

Shares of Tata Motors (1.13%), HDFC Bank (0.78%), and Tech Mahindra (0.72%) closed as the top losers.

The BSE Midcap index rose 0.50%, while the Smallcap index climbed 0.73%. The overall market capitalisation of the firms listed on the BSE rose to a record near Rs 464.4 lakh crore from nearly Rs 462.6 lakh crore from the previous session.

Among the sectors, the FMCG index was the sole laggard. It weighed slightly on overall sentiment as declines in ITC, Marico, and Dabur pulled the index down.

Nifty IT was the top sectoral gainer with gains of 3.8%. Sectors including Consumer Durable, Auto, Metal, Reality, Pharma, Media, and oil and gas witnessed gains ranging from 1 to 3%, While Bank Nifty gained around 1% during the week.

Bharti Airtel’s stock rose nearly 3% and hit a record high of Rs 1,608.40.

Tata Elxsi continued its upward march, adding another 5% to take the gains to 15% in five sessions.

SpiceJet fell sharply by 6% after DGCA placed the airline under ‘enhanced surveillance.’

Shares of One 97 Communications, the parent company of Paytm, rose over 12%, rallying past the Rs 600 level in trade, rising for a second day, on the back of the government’s nod for downstream investment in Paytm Payments Services.

The India VIX, a gauge of market volatility, eased further by nearly 3 percent to settle at 13.4 levels.

Global markets are currently resonating with the US Fed’s pledges of a rate cut in September.

France’s preliminary consumer price index came in at 2.2% for August. It is down from the 2.7% print of July. German and Spanish CPI reports showed that inflationary pressures in the two countries are easing.

Bank of Japan is widely expected to stick to its monetary policy tightening campaign as inflationary pressures in its capital city of Tokyo reaffirm the bank’s economic projections.