Mumbai: Equity benchmark Sensex ticked higher for the fifth straight session on Thursday, helped by fag-end buying in select blue-chip stocks amid a largely negative trend in global markets.
A depreciating rupee and rising crude prices in the international market capped the gains in domestic equities, traders said.
In a largely choppy session, the 30-share BSE index ended 37.87 points or 0.06 per cent higher at 60,298 after starting the trade on a weak note. During the day, it hit a high of 60,341.41 and a low of 59,946.44.
Logging its eighth consecutive gain, the broader NSE Nifty climbed 12.25 points or 0.07 per cent to settle at 17,956.50.
The market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms reached an all-time high of over Rs 280.52 lakh crore on Thursday, helped by a continuous rally in equities.
Kotak Mahindra Bank was the biggest gainer in the Sensex pack, rising 3.45 per cent, followed by Larsen & Toubro, Bharti Airtel, UltraTech Cement, Power Grid, IndusInd Bank, State Bank of India and ITC.
On the other hand, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, Wipro, Infosys, Mahindra & Mahindra, Axis Bank and Nestle were among the laggards.
In the broader market, the BSE midcap gauge gained 0.42 per cent and the smallcap index climbed 0.34 per cent.
Sectorally, BSE realty jumped 1.76 per cent, followed by utilities (1.09 per cent), capital goods (0.91 per cent), industrials (0.90 per cent), bankex (0.68 per cent) and telecom (0.57 per cent).
Energy, healthcare, IT, auto, metal, teck and oil & gas were the laggards.
"Asian stocks fell on Thursday morning after minutes from the last US Federal Reserve meeting indicated the central bank would prioritise fighting inflation ahead of economic growth for longer than some investors had hoped.
"European stocks recovered from early losses. Eurozone inflation reached a new record high of 8.9 per cent year-on-year in July," Jasani said.
In Asia, markets in Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong ended lower.
Markets in Europe were trading mixed during mid-session deals. Equities on Wall Street ended lower on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the international oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 1.41 per cent higher at $94.97 per barrel.