Sensex rallies over 1,000 points, Nifty rallies 279 pts to reclaim 17,350 amid broad-based rally

Indian equity benchmarks staged a broad-based rally on Friday — the last day of the financial year, with financial, IT, oil & gas, FMCG and auto shares being the top driving forces. Globally, the focus shifted to key inflation readings from major economies as easing of concerns about the health of the banking system boosted banking shares, rocked by the sudden failure and rescue of US-based lenders Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank over the past few weeks.   

The Sensex surged 1,031.4 points or 1.8 per cent to end at 58,991.5 and the Nifty settled at 17,359.8, up 279.1 points or 1.6 per cent from its previous close. 

Reliance, Nestle India, Infosys, ICICI Bank, tata Motors, TCS, Tech Mahindra, Tata Consumer, Axis Bank and Hero MotoCorp rose the most among the 43 gainers in the Nifty50 basket, closing between 1.7 per cent and 4.3 per cent higher. Apollo Hospitals, Sun Pharma and Adani Ports — finishing the day with losses of 0.7-1.3 per cent each — were the top blue-chip laggards.

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Among heavyweights, Reliance, ICICI Bank, Infosys, HDFC Bank and TCS were the biggest contributors to the rise in the 30-scrip index.

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Global market update

European markets registered cautious gains amid listless trade ahead of data on inflation in the eurozone and the US, with the pan-continental Stoxx 600 rising half a per cent at the last count.

Dow Jones and S&P 500 futures were up 0.5 per cent and 0.3 per cent respectively, suggesting a positive start on Wall Street. 

(This story will be updated shortly)

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