The equity benchmarks soared to record highs with Nifty closing above the 14,000-mark for the first time on Friday, backed by robust buying in IT, auto and FMCG stocks. With today’s performance, Sensex and Nifty have continued their bull-run for fifth day in a row.

The 30-share BSE Sensex rose by 117.65 points or 0.25 per cent to close at a fresh lifetime high of 47,868.98. This is the eighth consecutive day of gains for the barometer and it has climbed by around 5 per cent since December 22.

Similarly, the broader Nifty closed at an all-time high of 14,018.50, showing gains of 36.75 points or 0.26 per cent over its previous close. During the intra-day it touched a record high of 14,049.85.

Among major Sensex gainers, ITC rose the most by 2.32 per cent, followed by TCS, M&M and SBI.

TCS rose by 2.02 per cent after the IT major said its board will meet on January 8 to approve financial results and a proposal for declaring the third interim dividend to shareholders.

Among other IT stocks, Tech Mahindra rose 0.23 per cent, Infosys by 0.36 per cent and HCL Tech by 0.43 per cent. Dr Reddy’s, L&T, Sun Pharma, Axis Bank, IndusInd Bank, Nestle and Ultratech Cement also advanced.

Auto stocks advanced on better sales numbers for December month. Market leader Maruti, which posted a 20 per cent increase in vehicle sales in December, rose by 0.53 per cent while Bajaj Auto closed up by 1.03 per cent.

Mahindra & Mahindra rose by 1.62 per cent even as it posted a 10.3 per cent decline in total sales at 35,187 units in December 2020. The company also announced its decision to scrap a previously announced automotive joint venture with Ford citing fundamental changes in global economic conditions.

Meanwhile, GST collections touched a record high of over Rs 1.15 lakh crore in December, reflecting festive demand and reflating economy.

The Sensex and Nifty finished the year 2020 with overall gains of around 15 per cent. The Sensex gained 15.7 per cent while the Nifty jumped 14.9 per cent in the year.

FPIs have been a major driver of the rally in Indian stock markets. According to exchange data, FPIs bought shares worth Rs 1,135.59 crore on a net basis on Thursday.

US markets also closed the pandemic-hit year at record highs on Thursday.

Most of the global markets were closed on Friday for the New Year’s holiday.