The Sensex at the the Bombay Stock Exchange this afternoon breached the 31,000 mark for the first time ever. After a firm opening this morning, the Sensex gained further ground, and had rallied 277 points, to 31,027, a short while ago. The Sensex also hit a fresh lifetime intra-day high. The Nifty at the National Stock Exchange had gained 81 points, to 9,591. The Nifty, too, touched a new intra-day peak. All the BSE sectoral indices, led by metal stocks, were trading higher, amid broad- based buying by investors. And at the forex market, the rupee had appreciated 8 paise, to 64.53 against the dollar in afternoon deals.