FINAL TRADE (September 23): Equities end at fresh closing highs; Nifty ends near 25,940, Sensex adds 384 pts to settle at 84,928.61

Equity indices tracking positiive global sentiment ended at fresh closing hghs in Monday's session amid broad-based buying. Nifty at the close ended near 25,940, up 0.57 per cent or 148.1 points while Sensex added 384.3 points  or 0.45 per cent and closed at 84,928.61 levels.

Sectorally, PSU Bank, reatly, oil & gas and consumer durable stocks led the gains, while the IT pack recouped some of the day's losses, helped by select buying in stocks.

From the Nifty pack, top gainers included stocks like M&M, Bajaj Auto, ONGC, Hero MotoCorp and SBI Life Insurance which soared 3 per cent and more, while top losers were Eicher Motors, Divi's Laboratories, ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank and Tech Mahindra.

The Nifty IT pack recouped some of the early losses and ended 0.5 per cent lower dragged by Tech Mahindra, Infosys and TCS.

Siddhesh Mehta, Research Analyst, SAMCO Securities stated that while the rate cut could provide some relief, the underlying challenges have cast doubts on the sector’s short-term growth leading to heightened volatility. Despite the short-term volatility, many IT companies have strong balance sheets and a history of navigating economic downturns effectively.

Meanwhile, as the Vodafone Idea concall was undergoing its stock ended over 3 per cent higher at Rs 10.82 apiece on the NSE.

European markets traded mixed as business activity contracted in September at its sharpest pace in seven months, according to a survey on Monday that suggested Europe's largest economy had tipped into recession.

The Gernan DAX at the last coun traded marginally higher; while French CAC and FTSE traded down.