Equity markets closed higher for the second consecutive session on Thursday led by gains in Reliance Industries, Infosys and HDFC twins amid a mixed trend in global markets.
Sensex zoomed 874.18 points or 1.53 per cent to end at 57,911.68 and Nifty rallied 256.05 points or 1.49 per cent to 17,392.60.
M&M, Maruti, Bajaj Finserv, Asian Paints, Reliance Industries, Kotak Mahindra Bank, HDFC, TCS, Sun Pharma, Infosys and IndusInd Bank were the top Sensex gainers, rising up to 3.50 per cent.
Share Market UPDATE: Sensex rises 874 pts, Nifty nears 17,400; M&M, Kotak Bank, Maruti top gainers
Tata Steel, Nestle and Bharti Airtel were the only losers, falling up to 0.88 per cent.
Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research (Retail), Kotak Securities said, "We are of the view that the short-term texture has changed to positive, but due to overstretch intraday formation, range-bound activity is not ruled out. For the traders, the immediate hurdle on the Nifty would be 17500-17550. On the flip side, 17,300-17,275 would act as a crucial support zone on the Nifty for the day traders. The intraday texture is mildly overbought. Hence, buying on dips and sell on rallies would be the ideal strategy for the day traders."
BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices rose 314 points and 385 points, respectively.
Among BSE sectoral indices, auto, banks and consumer durables were the top gainers. The market breadth was positive with 2303 shares ending higher against 1,115 stocks falling into the red. 103 shares were unchanged.
Market cap of BSE-listed firms rose to Rs 271.77 lakh crore against Rs 268.24 lakh crore in the previous session.
Foreign institutional investors continued their selling spree, offloading shares worth a net Rs 3,009.26 crore on Wednesday, according to stock exchange data.
In the previous session, benchmark indices rebounded after falling for five straight sessions, led by buying in Reliance Industries and recovery in Infosys, TCS and HDFC twins.
Sensex jumped 574.35 points to end at 57,037.50. During the day, the index rallied 753.36 points or 1.33 per cent to 57,216. Nifty ended 177.90 points or 1.05 per cent higher at 17,136.
Elsewhere in Asia, markets in Tokyo and Seoul settled in the green today, while Hong Kong and Shanghai ended lower. Markets in Europe were trading mostly higher in the afternoon session. Stocks in the US had ended on a mixed note on Wednesday.
International oil benchmark Brent crude gained 1.40 per cent to $108.3 per barrel.