Nifty trades above 25,000-mark for first time as markets scale new highs

Market opening: The Indian equity benchmarks are on a record-breaking streak with Nifty 50 index crossing yet another milestone of 25,000 for the first time. The Nifty 50 index advanced 100 points to hit record high of 25,051 on Thursday while Sensex rose as much as 278 points to trade above 82,000 mark for the first time.

The up move in Thursday's session was led by heavyweights like HDFC Bank, Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors, ICICI Bank, JSW Steel and State Bank of India.

As of 9:20 am, the Sensex was up 244 points at 81,985 and Nifty 50 index advanced 101 points to 25,051.

Markets have been on a bull run ever since Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance government came to power for third time on expectations of policy stability and pace of macro-economic reforms to gather pace. Meanwhile, strong earnings posted by the companies in the first quarter of current financial year have further boosted bullish sentiment for equities, analysts said.

Buying by foreign institutional investors has also added to up move in the market as foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 32,365 crore in July, data from National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL) showed.