US Fed spurs Sensex, Nifty to hit lifetime highs

Benchmark indices rally over 1%, after US central bank signals rate cuts next year

Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty rallied over 1% to hit all-time highs on Thursday, propelled by intense buying in IT, tech and realty stocks after the US Federal Reserve kept its key interest rate unchanged and signalled rate cuts next year.

Rising for the second straight session, the 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 929.60 points or 1.34% to settle at 70,514.20, its all-time closing high. During the day, it surged 1,018.29 points or 1.46% to hit its all-time intra-day peak of 70,602.89.

The Nifty rallied 256.35 points or 1.23% to settle at a record closing high of 21,182.70. During the session, it jumped 284.55 points or 1.35% to 21,210.90, its record intra-day peak.