FINAL TRADE: Sensex jumps 629 pts, Nifty settles at 18,499; RIL gains 3%, Sun Pharma up over 2%

Stock market today: An across-the-board buying helped benchmark indices settle with 1 per cent gains on Friday (May 26), the first day of the futures and options (F&O) contracts of the June series. The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 62,501.69, up 629 points, or 1.02 per cent while the NSE's Nifty settled at 18,499.35, up 178 points, or 0.97 per cent.

“Nifty opened on a positive note taking cues from a strong US market and gained momentum as the day progressed. Not only did it hold above the 18,400 level with relative ease but managed to close well above the previous swing high of 18,460. The relative strength index is inching towards 70 which if sustained can give a fresh push to Nifty. The 18,400 put option has witnessed significant intraday selling, implying a robust upside towards 18,650 can be seen as long as 18,400 is protected,"  said Gaurav Bissa, VP - InCred Equities.

Meanwhile, Nifty Midcap 100 and Small Cap 100 ended nearly 1 per cent higher. In the sectoral space, Nifty Bank also climbed about a per cent higher and closed at 44,018. The Nifty FMCG index hit a record high and crossed the 50,000 mark.

"Banknifty has managed to consistently close above its 10-DEMA even when Nifty closed below its 10-DEMA for a couple of trading sessions. However, Banknifty is yet to cross its immediate hurdle of 44,160 levels whereas Nifty has closed well above its hurdle. A strong upside till 45,000 can be seen once it confirms a breakout after closing above 44,160 levels," said Bissa. 

Apart from this, Sun Pharma stock climbed after reporting in-line Q4 results. Besides, Vodafone Idea, Radico Khaitan, Emami, Medplus Health Services, Nucleus Software Exports, and BEML, too, ended in the green post-Q4 result. Conversely, Samvardhana Motherson shares closed lower despite better-than-expected Q4 result, Grasim ended with minor cuts as earnings were largely below estimates and Page industries stock fell over 8 per cent after reporting weak earnings.

Global Markets 

In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo and Shanghai ended in the green. Equity markets in Europe were trading lower. The US market ended mostly with gains on Thursday.