Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty hit their fresh record peaks in early trade on Thursday amid firm trend in the US markets and foreign fund inflows.

The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 159.18 points to reach an all-time peak of 74,245.17 in early trade. The Nifty went up by 49.6 points to 22,523.65.

However, later the markets turned volatile and both the benchmark indices were trading between highs and lows.

Among the Sensex firms, JSW Steel, Tata Steel, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Asian Paints and State Bank of India were the major gainers.

Mahindra & Mahindra, Infosys, Axis Bank and ICICI Bank were among the laggards.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong were trading lower.

The US markets ended in the positive territory on Wednesday.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 2,766.75 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.

"There are some distinct trends in the market now. One, largecaps are outperforming mid and smallcaps. Two, Bank Nifty is emerging stronger led by private sector majors like ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and Kotak Bank. Three, regulatory action on some NBFCs have impacted sentiments in the entire NBFC space, which, in turn, is improving sentiments in the high quality private banking space," said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.13 per cent to USD 82.85 a barrel.

The BSE benchmark jumped 408.86 points or 0.55 per cent to settle at a new record high of 74,085.99 on Wednesday. The Nifty climbed 117.75 points or 0.53 per cent to settle at a fresh closing peak of 22,474.05.

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