FINAL TRADE: Nifty, Sensex halt two-day losing streak aided by financial stocks

Stock market today: Domestic blue-chip indices Nifty50 and Sensex ended higher on Thursday driven by broad-based buying. Financial stocks were at the forefront of the recovery on Dalal Street, where the indices lost about 1.3 per cent of their value in the past two days.The Nifty ended 141.25 points or 0.66 per cent higher at 21,658.6 and the Sensex finished the day at 71,847.57, up 490.97 points or 0.69 per cent from its previous close.

Bajaj Finance, Tata Consumer Products and NTPC were among the top gainers in the Nifty basket, closing with gains of around 3-4 per cent. On the other hand, Dr Reddy's, BPCL, LTIMindtree and HCL Tech were among the top losers, declining around x-x per cent for the day.

The high-beta Nifty Bank index, whose 12 constituents include SBI, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank, finished the day 490.9 points or 1.03 per cent higher at 48,195.85. Nifty Midcap 100 ended 781 points or 1.68 per cent higher while Nifty Small Cap 100 finished 150 or 099 per cent higher. 

"Market bounced back after the last two negative trading days led by strong monthly business updates of leading banks, emphasizing robust credit growth. The Realty sector was the highest gainer in anticipation of robust demand in the residential category, which was supported by healthy housing loans disbursement data announced by banks," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services said.

"The Asian market engaged in profit-booking as Fed minutes indicated that rates will be put on-hold in the near-term," he added.

Global markets

European shares bounced back on Thursday, powered by healthcare and energy stocks, with investors looking forward to a slew of economic data for any signs that major central banks could loosen monetary policy sooner than expected this year. The pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.5 per cent at the last count, having dropped to a three-week low in the previous session.

With inputs from agencies

(This story will be updated shortly.)

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