Extending gains for the fourth day in a row, the BSE benchmark Sensex on Friday rose by 39 points, mainly on buying in power, capital goods and realty sector stocks amid increased foreign inflows.
The 30-share index rose by 38.79 points, or 0.19 per cent, to 20,286.12. It has gained 556 points in last three trading sessions.
Sensex had climbed to its highest level since January 2011 yesterday and has gained one per cent this week, the longest rising streak since October last year.
Similarly, the National Stock Exchange index — Nifty — rose by 17.40 points, or 0.28 per cent, to 6,187.30.
Also, MCX-SX flagship index SX40 rose 18.03 points, or 0.15 per cent, to 11,972.52.
Brokers said the market remained bullish on reports of higher foreign fund inflows on optimism about a rate cut by the Reserve Bank in the wake of falling inflation numbers.
They said a better trend in Asian region and higher opening in Europe further influenced the trading sentiment to some extent.
FIIs bought domestic stocks worth around USD 195 million yesterday (Rs 1,070.33 crore), according to BSE provisional data.
Out of the 30 BSE index components, 16 stocks gained led by BHEL by rising the most in five months, pacing gains among other makers of power equipments. The stock rose 4 per cent to Rs 201.35.
Banking stocks were in demand on hopes of interest rate cut. ICICI Bank rose 1.92 per cent to Rs 1,228.60, SBI by 0.41 per cent to Rs 2,424.60 and Axis Bank by 0.18 per cent to Rs 1,532.80.
The power sector index gained the most by 3.08 per cent to 1,844.29, followed by capital goods index by 2.95 per cent to 10,423.08. Realty index advanced 2.02 per cent to 2,032.03 and banking index by 0.56 per cent to 15,214.45.
