Foreign flows drive sensex past 71K

The sensex capped a strong winning week with a 970-point rally on Friday to close above the 71,000-mark for the first time in history. It closed at 71,484 points as software exporters led the rally. The US central bank’s announcement late Wednesday that it could start cutting interest rates in 2024 in the world’s largest market led to a global rally which continued Friday. In the domestic market, foreign funds remained net buyers with a Rs 9,239-crore net inflow Friday that took the month’s tally to about Rs 52,000cr.