Stock Market News: Sensex Extends Rally, Rises 487 Points; Nifty Above 22,550; PSU Bank Gains

Stock Market News: On the 30-share Sensex platform, Axis Bank soared 6 per cent, followed by SBI, JSW Steel, Nestle, ITC, Sun Pharma

Stock Market News: The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Thursday staged a smart recovery amid volatility. The S&P BSE Sensex, which oscillated between gains and losses since opening, eventually closed the day with a gain of 486 points at 74,339. The BSE index has rallied 1,849 points in the past five straight trading sessions. The NSE Nifty50, on the other hand, touched a high of 22,626, and finally settled 168 points higher at 22,570.

Stock update

On the 30-share Sensex platform, Axis Bank soared 6 per cent, followed by SBI, JSW Steel, Nestle, ITC, Sun Pharma. On the down side, Kotak Bank plunged over 10 per cent after the RBI ordered the bank not to issue fresh credit cards. HUL, Titan, Bajaj Finance, Maruti, Asian Paints were among the losers.

In the broader market, the BSE Midcap index rose 0.8 per cent while the Smallcap advanced 0.6 per cent.

Sectoral update

Sectorwise, except realty, all other indices ended in the green, with PSU Bank index jumped nearly 4 per cent.

In the previous session on Wednesday, the S&P BSE Sensex closed at 73,853, up 114 points, while the NSE Nifty50 settled at 22,402, rising 34 points.

"The market breadth was strong, with oil prices correcting due to easing conflict in the Middle East and weakening US demand. The domestic broader market was buoyed by the PMI data, with an improvement in discretionary spending. Further, the RBI's regulatory ecosystem on private banks led the PSU banks to outperform. The global market largely traded on a mixed note and is now focused on earning reports, with initial reports suggesting a disappointing outlook for technology stocks, which led to the US yield inching higher," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services, said.

Global market updates

In Asian markets, Seoul and Tokyo settled lower, while Shanghai and Hong Kong ended in positive territory. European markets were trading on a mixed note. Wall Street ended on a mixed note on Wednesday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.06 per cent to $88.07 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 2,511.74 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.

Rupee gains 1 paise

The rupee inched up 1 paisa to close at 83.32 (provisional) against the US dollar on Thursday as the support from positive domestic equities was negated by continued selling pressure from foreign funds. Forex traders said foreign capital outflows also weighed on the rupee. However, a soft US dollar against key rivals overseas supported the domestic currency.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at 83.34 against the greenback. Moving in a tight range, the unit hit an intra-day high of 83.31 and a low of 83.40 against the greenback.

The local currency finally settled at 83.32 (provisional) against the dollar, 1 paisa higher from its previous close. On Wednesday, the rupee consolidated in a narrow range and settled 2 paise lower at 83.33 against the US dollar.