Nifty surges 2 percent to record high; banks lead

MUMBAI (Reuters) - The Nifty rose as much as 2 percent to a record high on Friday, while the benchmark BSE Sensex hit a record for a second consecutive session, driven by sharp gains in domestic-focused sectors such as banks and capital goods.

State Bank of India rose 4.8 percent, while ICICI Bank Ltd was up 6.5 percent. India's biggest engineering and construction firm, Larsen and Toubro Ltd , gained 4.9 percent.

Gains came as foreign portfolio investors extended their buying streak to a fifteenth straight session, totalling over $1 billion.

The Nifty was up 2.1 percent at 3.03 p.m., after earlier hitting a record high at 6,533.40 points.

 

The BSE Sensex was up 1.9 percent, after earlier hitting an all-time high at 21,933.97 points.

(Reporting by Indulal PM; Editing by Sunil Nair)