Markets hit a bull run today with the Sensex and Nifty hitting record highs on the back of broad-based buying interest after a fortnight of consolidation. Sentiments got a leg up after data showed that foreign funds, which were largely net sellers on the Indian bourses for some time, made fresh purchases in yesterday's trade, brokers said.
The Sensex gained 314.92 points to close at a new peak of 30,248.17, while the Nifty soared by 90.45 points to end at 9,407.30.
Hindustan Unilever, Bharti Airtel and Aurobindo Pharma gained the most on both indices, while TCS, Wipro and UltraTech Cement were the top losers.
Midcaps gained almost a per cent, while metals and banks gained around half per cent.
The benchmark BSE Sensex rallied about 160 points to trade above the key 30,000-mark in opening trade today, buoyed by forecast of a normal monsoon this year amid positive global cues.
On similar lines, the NSE Nifty rose 42.70 points, or 0.46 per cent, at 9,359.55 in opening trade.
The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) yesterday said the monsoon this year could be 'normal' and bring 100 per cent rainfall instead of 96 per cent it predicted earlier, which is expected to give a booster dose to the rural economy.
Other Asian markets were trading higher following an overnight positive lead from European and US markets.
Among other Asian markets, Hong Kong's Hang Seng was up 0.64 per cent while Japan's Nikkei gained 0.30 per cent in early trade. Shanghai Composite Index too was up 0.18 per cent.
