Sensex surges 279 pts; IT, finance stocks shine

Mumbai: The BSE Sensex rebounded 279 points while the NSE Nifty reclaimed the 11,250 level on Thursday, propelled by gains in IT and financial stocks amid mixed global cues.

Both the key indices rallied in the last hour of trade after trading on a tepid note through most part of the day.

The 30-share BSE benchmark closed 278.60 points, or 0.75 per cent, higher at 37,393.48. It hit an intra-day high of 37,518.94 and a low of 37,052.30.

Similarly, the broader Nifty rose 100.10 points, or 0.90 per cent, to settle at 11,257.10. During the day, it hit a high of 11,281.55 and a low of 11,143.35.

Bajaj Finance was the biggest gainer in the Sensex pack, spurting 3.64 per cent, after the company reported a jump of 50 per cent in standalone net profit at Rs 1,114 crore for the March quarter.

Tata Motors, Infosys, Vedanta, ONGC, PowerGrid, NPTC, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, Kotak Bank, SBI, HDFC Bank, Tata Steel, TCS and RIL too rose up to 3.48 per cent.

On the other hand, Yes Bank was the top loser, cracking 4.07 per cent, followed by Bharti Airtel, IndusInd Bank, Coal India, ITC, M&M, HDFC, Maruti and Asian Paints, shedding up to 1.87 per cent.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net sold shares worth Rs 1,142.44 crore on Wednesday, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) purchased equities to the tune of Rs 671.77 crore, provisional data available with stock exchanges showed.

Bourses in China, Japan and Korea ended on a mixed note after US slapped sanctions on Chinese telecom major Huawei. European stocks opened in the red.

Meanwhile, the Indian rupee appreciated by 27 paise to 70.07 against the US dollar intra-day.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.56 per cent higher at USD 72.17 per barrel.