Equity benchmarks surged to lifetime closing highs on Tuesday as better than expected GDP data and progress on the Covid-19 vaccine front gave fresh impetus to investor bullishness.

A strengthening rupee and persistent foreign capital inflows further boosted market sentiment, traders said.

The 30-share BSE Sensex zoomed 505.72 points or 1.15 per cent to end at its fresh closing record of 44655.44.

Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty surged 140.10 points or 1.08 per cent to close at its all-time high of 13109.05.

Sun Pharma was the top performer in the Sensex pack, spurting 5.51 per cent, followed by IndusInd Bank, Tech Mahindra, ONGC, Bharti Airtel, Infosys, ICICI Bank and Bajaj Auto.

On the other hand, Kotak Bank, Nestle India, Titan, Bajaj Finance, HDFC Bank and NTPC were among the main laggards, shedding up to 1.40 per cent.

Barring consumer durables, all BSE sectoral indices finished in the green, led by realty (3.49 per cent), telecom (2.52 per cent), teck (2.42 per cent) and IT (2.39 per cent)
World equities perched near all-time highs as strong factory output figures from China bolstered expectations of a swift economic recovery.