Opening bell: Sensex at all-time high of 67,771, Nifty hits record 20,168

Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty hit their record peaks in early trade on Thursday.

In continuation of their ongoing rally, amid a largely firm trend in Asian markets along with buying in IT and banking stocks.

Rallying for the 10th day running, the 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 304.06 points to 67,771.05 — its all-time peak — in early trade. The Nifty advanced 97.65 points to reach its lifetime high of 20,167.65.

Among the Sensex firms, Tata Steel, Tech Mahindra, Wipro, State Bank of India, Power Grid and JSW Steel were the major gainers.

Bajaj Finance emerged as the only laggard.

In Asian markets, Seoul and Shanghai were trading in the positive territory while Hong Kong quoted lower.

The US markets ended on a mixed note on Wednesday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.42 per cent to USD 92.28 a barrel.

“The August US CPI figures reinforces speculation that the Federal Reserve may pause its rate hikes in next week’s policy meeting. However, the technical landscape continues to be bullish with Nifty bulls now aiming aggressively at the psychological 20,500-mark.