Key stock indices Sensex and Nifty opened the New Year on a positive note with investors betting on IT, auto and select banking and financial stocks.

The benchmark BSE Sensex rose by 119.98 points or 0.25 per cent to 47,871.31 in early trade.

The broad-based NSE Nifty breached the 14,000 level by rising 38.60 points or 0.28 per cent to 14,020.35 in opening trade.

Led by Mahindra & Mahindra, auto stocks gained ahead of their monthly sales data. M&M rose the most among Sensex stocks by 2.3 per cent.

SBI, TCS, Infosys, Reliance, Larsen & Toubro and Bajaj Finance were among the major gainers.

Titan, ICICI Bank and Sun Pharma dropped due to profit booking.

FPIs have been a major driver of the rally in Indian stock markets. According to exchange data, FPIs bought shares worth Rs 1,135.59 crore on a net basis on Thursday.

The indices finished the year 2020 with overall gains of around 15 per cent. The Sensex gained 15.7 per cent while the Nifty jumped 14.9 per cent in the year.

US markets also closed the Covid-19 pandemic-hit year with record highs on Thursday.

The S&P 500 index finished with a gain of 16.3 per cent for the year, the Nasdaq composite soared 43.6 per cent, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 7.2 per cent.