Sensex Climbs 696 Points, Nifty Above 17,750; Financial, Banking Stocks Rise

In the broader markets, the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices logged strong gains and ended higher 1 per cent and 1.6 per cent, respectively

New Delhi: The key domestic benchmarks, BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty, ended day's trade on a positive note for the third straight session on Wednesday, mostly led by gains in financial and banking stocks.

The 30-share Sensex rallied 696 points to close at 59,558; while the broader NSE Nifty moved 203 points higher to settle at 17,780.

The Sensex opened with a surge of over 450 points and extended gains to touch an intra-day high of 59,618.5, a rise of over 400 points.

In the broader markets, the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices logged strong gains and ended higher 1 per cent and 1.6 per cent, respectively.

Wealth of the investors have zoomed around Rs 9.68 lakh crore in three straight days amid heavy buying interest.

On the Sensex platform, IndusInd Bank and Bajaj Finserv were the leading gainers, up 5 per cent each. They were followed by HCL Tech, Bajaj Finance, Kotak Bank, Axis Bank, Dr Reddy’s, HDFC twins, Wipro, ITC, TCS, Titan, SBI. and HUl. All these stocks closed 1-3.5 per cent up.

On the flip side, Tech Mahindra, UltraTech Cements, Britannia, Shree Cement, and Nestle India were among the losers.

In the previous session, the BSE index finished 848.40 points higher at 58,862.57. On similar lines, the broader NSE Nifty surged 237 points to end at 17,576.85.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday unveiled a bigger Rs 39.45-lakh crore Budget, with higher spending on highways to affordable housing with a view to fire up the key engines of the economy to sustain a world-beating recovery from the pandemic.

“India unveiled on Tuesday a bigger budget of Rs 39.45 trillion rupees for the coming fiscal year, stepping up investment on highways and affordable housing to put growth on a firmer footing as the economy recovers from the pandemic,” quoting Deepak Jasani, head of retail research, HDFC Securities, PTI said.

Meanwhile, the rupee appreciated 11 paise to 74.71 against the US dollar in the opening trade on Wednesday, supported by positive domestic equities and weak American currency.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 74.76 against the American dollar, then inched higher to quote 74.71, registering a rise of 11 paise from the last close.