Nifty hits new peak; Sensex trades higher

The NSE Nifty rose 34.75 points to hit a new peak of 8,623.00 and the benchmark BSE Sensex gained over 115 points to 28,693.99 in late morning deals after the country's manufacturing output accelerated in November at the quickest pace in nearly two years.

Besides, hopes of rate cuts by the RBI in its monetary policy review tomorrow also influenced the market sentiment.

The Nifty soared to a new high of 8,623.00, surpassing its earlier record of 8,617 touched on November 28, as the buying activity gathered momentum on the back of better-than-expected GDP data of 5.3 per cent in the July-September quarter.

Buying was witnessed in banking, auto, FMCG, healthcare and IT sectors supported by shares from midcap and smallcap companies.

The 30-share Sensex rose by 115.65 points, or 0.40 per cent, to 28,809.64 after touching a low of 28,672.73.

Similarly, the NSE 50-share barometer climbed by 34.75 points, or 0.40 per cent, to trade at a new life-time high of 8,623.00, breaching previous high of 8,617 reached on November 28.

Meanwhile, the headline HSBC India Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) -- a composite gauge designed to give a single-figure snapshot of manufacturing business conditions -- stood at 53.3 in November significantly higher from 51.6 in October.

Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 935.86 crore last Friday, as per provisional data.

Asian stocks traded mostly lower today as Chinese manufacturing gauge dropped, American holiday spending slowed and oil tumbled to a five-year low.

Asian bourses of Singapore, Taiwan, Japan, Indonesia and South Korea fell by 0.47 pct to 1.8 pct. While the key indices in China and Hong Kong rose 0.73 pct to 0.87 pct.