Mumbai, Dec 15 (IANS): The Nifty rose for the seventh week in a row to close at fresh all-time high of 21,457 on Friday, while the Sensex galloped nearly 1,000 points to settle at 71,483, said Devarsh Vakil, Deputy Head of Retail Research at HDFC Securities.

The stock market rally has come on the back of a dovish stance by the US Federal Reserve, which has signalled around three rate cuts in the coming years.

Cash market volumes stood sharply higher (second-highest ever), as compared to the recent averages. PSU bank stocks extended gains for the 11th consecutive trading session, Vakil said.

The combined market value of all BSE-listed companies surged by Rs 2.76 lakh crore on Friday, marking an overall increase of Rs 8.55 lakh crore for the week, reaching Rs 357.78 lakh crore, he said.

India’s trade deficit narrowed in November from a record high the previous month, as imports fell after demand slowed following the festive season. The rupee appreciated 33 paisa or 0.4 per cent and settled at Rs 83 per dollar, its biggest gain since March, Vakil said.

Nifty Midcap 100 and Smallcap 100 indices also closed at their all-time highs. However, on Friday, they underperformed the Nifty where Nifty Midcap and Smallcap 100 Index gained 0.11 per cent and 0.71 per cent, respectively.

Advancing shares outnumbered the declining shares for the third day in a row as advance decline ratio stood at 1.09 levels on the BSE, Vakil said.