Sensex up by over 350 pts to hit 60,000 for first time, Nifty crosses 17,900

 New Delhi: Equity benchmark Sensex rallied over 350 points to hit the 60,000-mark for the first time in opening trade on Friday.

The 30-share Sensex was trading 359.29 points or 0.60 per cent higher at its lifetime high of 60,244.65. Similarly, Nifty soared 100.40 points or 0.56 per cent to its intra-day record of 17,923.35 in initial deals.

It took little over 31 years for the Sensex to traverse from 1,000 points to the historic 60,000 level.

The benchmark index was at 1,000 points back on July 25, 1990 and took nearly 25 years before it touched the 30,000 mark on March 4, 2015.

The Sensex has climbed from the 30,000 level to 60,000 in little over six years, reflecting the overall bullishness in the market.

"Sensex has hit the 60,000-mark today. Reaching this milestone is quite an achievement in these COVID times and a shot in the arm for bulls that are in total control of this market," said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.