Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], June 21 (ANI): Indian markets reached new highs on Friday, with the Nifty touching a new peak during early trade and the Sensex gaining 200 points.

The Nifty 50 index hit a new high of 23,667.10, gaining 70 points to reach 23,640, while the Sensex rose over 200 points to 77,674 in early trading.

The broader market saw gains across all indices, including Nifty Midcap, Nifty Small Cap, and Nifty 100. However, sectoral indices on the National Stock Exchange such as Nifty Bank, Nifty Auto, Nifty Financial Services, Nifty FMCG, Nifty Private Bank, and Nifty Realty registered losses.

"In the US, markets had a soft close after seven days of gains, with some selling in Big Tech stocks. However, the overall momentum remains positive. Next week's Lok Sabha Speaker election and the Union Budget expectations will be the key drivers for the Indian markets," said Ajay Bagga, Banking and Market Expert.

He further added, "In anticipation of these, we could see a run up in the traditional beneficiaries of the public capex initiatives like capital goods, infrastructure, banks. Defence and railways stocks have already run up a lot and have been seeing some profit taking in recent days."According to NSDL data, during the initial two weeks of June, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) sold stocks across various sectors, including oilgas, construction, IT, metalsmining, consumer durables, auto, and FMCG.

"Currently, the market is in a consolidation phase without significant triggers for aggressive buying or selling. Despite this, the underlying sentiment remains bullish, prompting investors to view dips as buying opportunities, thereby bolstering market resilience. However, sharp upward movements may trigger profit-taking, potentially limiting sustained rallies," said Varun Aggarwal, MD, Profit Idea.

In Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.16 per cent, while South Korea's Kospi declined by 0.78 per cent on Friday. The broader Asia Dow was marginally higher by 0.015 per cent, contrasting with Hong Kong's Hang Seng, which fell 0.52 per cent, and China's Shanghai Composite, down 0.04 per cent. (ANI)