Mumbai |Continuing the record-breaking run for the third straight day, benchmark Sensex and Nifty closed at record high levels on Tuesday following buying in FMCG, telecom and select IT shares and FII inflows.

The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 51.69 points or 0.06 per cent to settle at a new lifetime high of 80,716.55. During the day, it advanced 233.44 points or 0.28 per cent to hit a fresh record high of 80,898.30.

The NSE Nifty rose by 26.30 points or 0.11 per cent to settle at an all-time closing high of 24,613, extending the gaining streak to the third day. Intra-day, it rallied 74.55 points or 0.30 to hit a new record peak of 24,661.25.

Stock markets opened on a firm note and benchmark indices hit intra-day record high levels in the first half. However, losses in Reliance Industries and Kotak Bank restricted gains and dragged indices from the day's highs.

Sensex and Nifty have been on a record-breaking run since Friday as foreign investors have turned net buyers in the Indian equities amid growing hopes of a rate cut by the US Fed by September. Encouraging quarterly results by blue-chips have also supported the rally despite high valuation concerns, according to analysts.

US Federal Chair Jerome Powell said that the Fed is becoming more convinced that inflation is headed back to its 2 per cent target and there could be a rate cut before the pace of price rise actually reached that point.

Among Sensex shares, Hindustan Unilever rose the most by 2.7 per cent. Bharti Airtel (2 per cent), Tech Mahindra (1.13 per cent), Infosys (1.09 per cent), Mahindra & Mahindra 0.95 per cent) were among the lead gainers. ICICI Bank, ITC and Asian Paints also advanced.

On the other hand, Kotal Bank fell the most by 2.11 per cent. Reliance Industries, NTPC, UltraTech Cement and Power Grid were among the laggards.

As many as 18 Sensex shares advanced while 12 declined.

The domestic market failed to uphold the opening gains as investor concerns about current valuations and subdued expectations for Q1FY25 earnings, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.

"With the earnings season set to fully commence this week, investors are likely to gain a broader sectoral perspective," he added.

In the broader market, the BSE smallcap gauge climbed 0.32 per cent while midcap index dipped 0.29 per cent.

Among the indices, realty jumped 1.62 per cent, FMCG by 0.89 per cent, telecommunication by 0.89 per cent, teck by 0.85 per cent and IT by 0.56 per cent.

Financial Services, utilities, bankex and capital goods were the laggards.

A total of 2,005 stocks advanced while 1,908 declined and 95 remained unchanged on BSE.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 2,684.78 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo and Shanghai settled higher, while Hong Kong ended lower amid dovish comments from the US Fed Chair Jerome Powell bolstering hopes of a rate cut by September.

European markets were trading lower. US markets ended in positive territory on Monday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.80 per cent to USD 84.13 a barrel. Oil prices edged lower due to concerns about a slowing Chinese economy impacting demand. However, expectations that the US Federal Reserve might begin cutting its key interest rate as early as September limited the declines, Shrikant Chouhan, Head Equity Research, Kotak Securities said.

Markets will remain closed on Wednesday for Muharram.