Market at all-time high: Sensex tops 86,000; Nifty surges past 26,300

Indian equity benchmarks continued their upward momentum in Thursday's session, extending the rally that pushed both frontline indices to fresh lifetime highs. The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 417 points to hit a new peak of 86,026, while the NSE Nifty rose 102 points to touch a record level of 26,307.

Global sentiment remained supportive for domestic benchmarks. VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, said that expectations of a rate cut by the US Federal Reserve have boosted risk appetite in equity markets. He added that optimism surrounding a possible Russia-Ukraine peace accord has further strengthened global market sentiment.

On the technical front, Nifty50 continued to build on its recent strength. Amruta Shinde, Technical & Derivative Analyst at Choice Equity Broking, said the index's latest gains reaffirm the prevailing bullish undertone following a phase of consolidation. Shinde advised traders to adopt a selective 'buy-on-dips' approach, manage leverage prudently and use tight trailing stop-losses with staggered profit-booking.

Shinde noted that fresh long positions may be taken only if Nifty sustains above the 26,300 mark, supported by close monitoring of global cues and key technical levels.

Additionally, institutional flows were strong, lending further support to the rally. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 4,778 crore on November 26, continuing their positive trend.

Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) also stayed active positively, purchasing equities worth Rs 6,247 crore during the same session.