Mumbai, Oct 23 : Equity benchmark indices continued their upward momentum for the sixth consecutive session on Thursday, supported mainly by strong buying in IT stocks.

However, both indices ended the day off their highs as some profit booking emerged later in the session.

The Sensex touched a new 52-week high of 85,290 during the day, gaining as much as 864 points. It finally settled with a modest rise of 130 points, or 0.15 per cent, at 84,556.

The Nifty also surged to an intra-day high of 26,104 before closing almost flat at 25,891, up 23 points. Analysts said that the Nifty completely erased its morning gains during the day; nevertheless, the short-term trend remains strong.

"On the daily chart, a large red candle has formed, indicating the possibility of a pullback towards the 25,700 level in the next few days. However, the short-term trend remains intact, with the potential to revisit higher levels around 26,200 in the next 10'15 days," market experts said.

Infosys led the rally among Sensex stocks, jumping 4 per cent after its promoters decided not to participate in the company's Rs 18,000 crore share buyback.

Other IT stocks followed suit, with HCL Technologies and TCS climbing more than 2 per cent each amid reports that India and the US may soon sign a trade deal.

Among other gainers, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Titan, and Tata Motors rose over 1 per cent each.

On the losing side, Eternal dropped 3 per cent to become the top Sensex laggard, while Bharti Airtel, Ultratech Cement, ICICI Bank, and Reliance slipped between 1 and 2 per cent.

In the broader market, sentiment remained weak. The BSE MidCap index declined 0.2 per cent, and the SmallCap index fell 0.5 per cent.

Among sectors, IT was the standout performer, with the BSE IT index rising 2.2 per cent.

Textile and shrimp-related stocks also saw strong gains on optimism surrounding the potential US-India trade deal.

Rupee saw a positive move of 0.19 paise, settling at 87.82 -- up by 0.22 per cent, as optimism around a potential US tariff deal provided support to the domestic currency.

/IANS