Mumbai, Jan 22 (IANS): Ahead of a possible European Central Bank (ECB) stimulus announcement, the barometer index of the Indian equities market - the S&P BSE Sensex - breached the 29,000 points threshold and touched a new record in Thursday's pre-afternoon trade session.

Positive international and domestic cues buoyed investor sentiments which led the benchmark index to cross the psychological barrier of 29,000 points.

The index touched a new high of 29,047.20 points in the intra-day trade so far.

Thursday's record high crossed the previous record of 28,958.10 points which was breached in Thursday's trade. On Wednesday the barometer index had set a new high of 28,829.29 points.

The Sensex, which opened at 28,957.79 points, was trading at 29,040.03 points (10.40 a.m.), up 151.17 points or 0.52 percent from the previous day's close at 28,888.86 points.

The Sensex touched a high of 29,047.20 points and a low of 28,941.93 points in the intra-day trade.