Mumbai July 26 (IANS) Key Indian equity indices -- S&P BSE Sensex and the NSE Nifty50 -- settled at new record closing levels on Thursday as healthy corporate earnings and rupee appreciation boosted investors sentiments.
The two indices -- Sensex and Nifty -- closed at their benchmark settlement levels of 36 984.64 points and 11 167.30 points respectively after setting fresh intra-day highs of 37 061.62 points and 11 185.85 points earlier in the day.
According to analysts volatility was witnessed in the market ahead of the expiry of July F&O derivatives.
Index-wise the wider Nifty on the National Stock Exchange closed at 11 167.30 points higher by 35.30 points or 0.32 per cent from its previous close of 11 132 points.
The barometer Sensex on the BSE rose by 126.41 points or 0.34 per cent to close at its highest closing level of 36 984.64 points against the previous close of 36 858.23 points. It touched an intra-day low of 36 852.53 points.
In the broader markets the S&P BSE mid-cap rose by 0.76 per cent and the S&P BSE small-cap ended 0.31 per cent higher from its previous close. The BSE market breadth was tilted towards the bulls with 1 335 advances and 1 238 declines.
"Markets rallied on Thursday after taking a breather on Wednesday. It was a volatile session (in a range) as it was the derivative expiry day of the July near month series " said Deepak Jasani Head of Retail Research at HDFC Securities.
He said the indices ended with healthy gains as sentiments were boosted on the back of better-than-expected quarterly results from corporates.
BNP Paribas Mutual Fund s Senior Fund Manager for Equities Abhijeet Dey said: "Additionally markets also heaved a sigh of relief at US President Donald Trump and the European Commission chief s plan to ease trade tensions."
On the currency front the rupee closed at 68.67 appreciating by 12 paise from the previous close of 68.79 per dollar.
Investment-wise provisional data with exchanges showed that foreign institutional investors bought scrip worth Rs 2 453.57 crore while the domestic institutional investors sold stocks worth Rs 2 716.04 crore.
Sector-wise the S&P BSE banking index gained the most by 429.59 points followed by the finance index up 78.64 points and the healthcare index which rose by 55.09 points.
On the contrary the S&P BSE IT index fell by 98.82 points the metal index was down 84.59 and the consumer durables index ended lower by 83.94 points from its previous close.
The major gainers on the Sensex were State Bank of India up 5.62 per cent at Rs 286.70; ICICI Bank up 4.08 per cent at Rs 285.80; Power Grid up 4.04 per cent at Rs 182.75; ONGC up 1.98 per cent at Rs 162.15; and Axis Bank up 1.84 per cent at Rs 541.65 per share.
The top losers were Maruti Suzuki down 3.70 per cent at Rs 9 396.65; Yes Bank down 3.61 per cent at Rs 369.60; Asian Paints down 1.23 per cent at Rs 1 432.50; Larsen and Toubro down 1.06 per cent at Rs 1 306.05; and Tata Consultancy Services down 0.81 per cent at Rs 1 963.305 per share.

--IANS rrb-rv/bg