Indian shares extended a record-breaking rally into the third straight session on Thursday as foreign investors bought blue chip shares ahead of July-September earnings due next month.
The 30-share BSE index ended 0.51 percent higher at a record 8,650.17 points after touching an intra-day peak of 8,722.17 points. Turnover was also slightly lower at 286 million shares due to a one-day nation-wide strike by bank employees.
Hundreds of thousands of bank workers went on strike to protest against the government's economic policies like encouraging bank mergers and easing foreign direct investment rules in the crowded banking sector.
While the strike saw volumes in the foreign exchange and bond market shrink, it did not dampen the stock market rally.
"The market is being driven by the flow of money from foreign funds. I expect the market to continue the rally in the medium term," Ketan Dedhia, managing director of Nalanda Securities, said.
Foreign funds have pumped nearly $8.5 billion into Indian shares on expectations that an economy which is expected to grow at 7 percent this year will help bolster corporate balance sheets.
The major gainers on Thursday among the index shares were Infosys Technologies Ltd, up 2.3 percent at 2,527.60 rupees, Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd, which gained 5.4 percent to 1,222.65 rupees and Larsen & Toubro Ltd, up 4.8 percent at 1,544.05 rupees.
Meanwhile, yield on the popular 7.37 percent 2014 bond inched up to 7.0224 percent from the previous close of 7.0023 percent with volumes about a tenth of usual turnover of 25 billion rupees, traders said.