Nifty at record close; financials, consumer staples bolster

NSE index marked its highest ever close on Friday, helped mainly by financial and consumer staple stocks and as Asian peers recovered on hopes of Sino-US trade talks next week.

Cement stocks such as Ramco Cements, Shree Cement, Orient Cement and India Cements surged after the government allowed the import of petcoke for use as feedstock in cement, lime kiln, calcium carbide and other industries.

Cash-strapped Jet Airways rose nearly 3 per cent after a report said the company was in talks to raise up to 20 billion rupees against its forward sales. The company early on Friday deferred its first-quarter results to August 27.

The broader NSE Nifty ended 0.75 per cent higher at 11,470.75. It rose 0.4 per cent over the week.

The benchmark BSE Sensex ended 0.75 per cent higher at 37,947.88. It gained 0.2 per cent over the week.