Sensex and Nifty, the two key equity benchmarks, on Thursday pared losses and rallied for the first time in three days.


The BSE Sensex rose 436 points to 55,818, while the broader NSE Nifty settled at 16,628, up 105 points.


On the BSE platform, Reliance Industries was the biggest contributor, accounting for over 65 per cent of today's gains, as its shares surged 3.6 per cent. Bajaj Finserv, Sun Pharma, HCL Tech, Asian Paints, Infosys, TCS, IndusInd Bank, and Tata Steel were the other notable gainers on the 30-pack index. On the flip side, HDFC, PowerGrid, HUL, HDFC Bank, L&T, and Kotak Bank were the prime laggards.


The overall market breadth stood positive as 1,976 shares advanced, while 1,330 declined on BSE.


In the broader markets, midcap and smallcap shares finished on a positive note as Nifty midcap 100 gained 0.68 per cent and smallcap surged 0.61 per cent.


On NSE, 10 out of the 15 sector gauges settled in the green. Sub-indexes Nifty IT and Nifty Oil and Gas outperformed the platform by rising as much as 1.82 per cent and 2.28 per cent, respectively.


In the previous session on Wednesday, the Sensex skidded 185 points (0.33 per cent) to settle at 55,381, while the Nifty dipped 61 points (0.37 per cent) to end at 16,522.


“High-frequency data like GST collection and PMI have shown a good start to FY23. Crude prices have declined providing an edge to the performance of the Indian market. However, a lot will depend on central bank’s policy in India and US, which will be announced in the next two weeks,” said Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Financial Services.


Elsewhere in Asia, markets in Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Seoul ended lower, while Shanghai remained in the green. Markets in Europe were trading with gains during the afternoon trade. Stock markets in the US had ended lower on Wednesday.


Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude declined 2.21 per cent to $113.7 per barrel.


Foreign institutional investors offloaded shares worth a net Rs 1,930.16 crore on Wednesday, according to stock exchange data.