The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Wednesday ended on a strong note, mainly led by IT and private bank stocks. The S&P BSE Sensex surged 728 points to close at 66,902. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty50 settled above the 20,000-mark for the first time after more than two months at 20,097, up 207 points.
On the 30-share Sensex platform, Axis Bank (3.92 per cent), M&M, Wipro, Tata Motors, HDFC Bank, TechM emerged prime gainers. On the downside, Nestle, Titan, Bajaj Finserv, and UltraCemco were the losers.
A total of 1,828 shares advanced, 1,706 shares declined, while 123 remain unchanged.
In the broader markets, the BSE Midcap index rose 0.8 per cent and Smallcap index gained 0.4 per cent.
Sectorally, except realty, all other sectoral indices ended in the green. The Nifty bank, Auto, Financial Services, IT, PSU bank, and Private Bank indices ended higher in the range of 1 per cent to 1.5 per cent.
In a previous session on Tuesday, the S&P BSE Sensex rose 204 points to close at 66,174, while the NSE Nifty50 settled at 19,890, up 95 points.
Meanwhile, The Indian rupee sustained its gaining momentum for the second straight session and settled 2 paise higher at 83.32 (provisional) against the US dollar on Wednesday boosted by robust buying in equity markets and inflow of foreign funds. A weak US dollr against major rivals supported the domestic unit while an upward movement in crude oil prices ahead of the crucial meeting of oil-producing countries capped the gain in the rupee, forex traders said.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened stronger at 83.30 against the dollar and traded between the peak of 83.28 and the lowest level of 83.33 intra-day. It finally settled at 83.32 (provisional) against the greenback, up 2 paise over its previous close. On Tuesday, the rupee rebounded from record low levels and settled 6 paise higher at 83.34 against the US dollar.