Four sectoral indices hit all-time highs

Spurred by a strong showing in the ITC counter,FMCG index emerged as the top performer,climbing as much as 124.79 points to close at 3,687.89.

In intra-day trading,the index had touched an all-time high of 3,707.13 as stocks of food-to-cigarette giant ITC surged nearly five per cent to Rs 176.60. Moreover,ITC contributed the most to the 30-share Sensex,which soared 311.35 points to a 32-month high of 19,906.10 points.

8220;FMGC companies are seeing an upsurge on the back of good monsoon and onset of festive season. Also,the firm broader market is also boosting the investor sentiment,8221; Geojit BNP Paribas Research Head Alex Mathews said.

In line with the strong market sentiment,the bank index also witnessed a great trading day and rose over 200 points to its life-time high of 13,945.37 points.

Out of the 14 scrips constituting the Bankex,11 ended the day on a positive note while three finished in red. Axis Bank rose 2.44 per cent while the private sector lender ICICI Bank surged by 1.15 per cent.

8220;Banking stocks are lifting the broader market for quite sometime,also the foreign institutional investors are pouring in large amount of money in the domestic market. Indian banks are in a better position than its peers globally,8221; Mathews added.

The auto index also saw a stellar performance and reached its all-time high of 9,407.08 points in intra-day session.

Among the auto stocks,the maximum increase was witnessed in the two-wheeler major Hero Honda which shot up four per cent to end the day at Rs 1,819.80.

Further,healthcare index zoomed nearly 57 points in intra-day trading to touch 5,898.97.