Equity benchmark Sensex stretched its winning run to the fourth straight session on Wednesday to reclaim the 60000-level as robust gains in banking and financial stocks offset profit-booking in the IT pack. A rebounding rupee and continuous buying by foreign funds added to the momentum, traders said.
Overcoming a wobbly start, the 30-share BSE Sensex surged 367.22 points, or 0.61 per cent, to end at 60223.15. The index last closed above the key 60000-mark on November 17, 2021. Similarly, the NSE Nifty climbed 120 points or 0.67 per cent to finish at 17925.25.
Bajaj Finserv was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, spurting 5.09 per cent, followed by Bajaj Finance, Kotak Bank, Axis Bank, Tata Steel, HDFC Bank, Asian Paints, Maruti and ICICI Bank.
Tech Mahindra, Infosys, HCL Tech, Wipro, PowerGrid and Dr Reddy’s were among the major laggards, dropping as much as 2.87 per cent. Market breadth was in favour of the bulls, with 18 of the 30 Sensex counters logging gains.
“In a highly volatile session, the domestic market witnessed a recovery following a mild dip though the global sentiments were not in favour of bulls. Increasing Covid cases leading to stricter restrictions has pressurised market volatility. The banking sector outshone other sectoral indices as few private lenders reported double-digit business growth during Q3.
“IT stocks took a blow as investors awaited the onset of the quarterly results season. US and Asian markets traded weak ahead of the release of the US Fed meeting minutes while European indexes held ground,” said Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Financial Services.
