Up 264 pts on renewed investor confidence.
Stock market bellwether index Sensex rose for the second consecutive session on Thursday, ending 264 points higher on renewed investor confidence, supported by positive European cues.
The Bombay Stock Exchange’s 30-share benchmark, which was creeping till mid-session, spurted in the second half after European markets opened firm and settled at 16,922.08 points, showing a gain of 264.19 points, or 1.59 per cent.
The wide-based Nifty, Index of the National Stock Exchange, ended 1.57 per cent higher at 5,078.60 points.
Aggressive purchasing in auto, metal and telecom stocks pushed the Sensex to an intra-day high of 16,942.60 points, marketmen said.
“Positive sentiments from Europe and hectic demand in the last hour of trade helped the market end near the day’s high. Good export numbers from China were also a fillip for the markets,” Geojit BNP Paribas Research Head Alex Mathews said.
Bharti Airtel extended gains for the second day, rising by another 4.81 per cent. It had gained 5.57 per cent in the previous trade after completing the $10.7 billion acquisition deal for Kuwait-based Zain’s African operations.
Brokers said Bharti Airtel gained even with Standard & Poor’s lowering the credit rating of the company. “Investors are positive on Airtel as they think that after the Zain deal, revenue of the telecom major will increase,” CNI Research CMD Kishore P Ostwal said.
Another telecom operator Reliance Communications, led by Anil Ambani, rose by 2.47 per cent. Metal stocks recorded gains as good export numbers from China indicated that the demand for commodities was likely to remain strong.
Hindalco rose by 4.14 per cent, Sterlite Industries by 1.94 per cent, Tata Steel by 1.85 per cent and Jindal Steel by 2.05 per cent. Auto stocks were in the top gear on Thursday after companies posted record sales for May. The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers said companies sold 12,08,851 units in May.
Tata Motors gained 4.31 per cent, Hero Honda 4.14 per cent, Maruti Suzuki 3.33 per cent and M&M 2.55 per cent.
Banking major State Bank of India (SBI) surged 2.38 per cent, a day after saying it was planning to raise Rs 20,000 crore through a rights issue this fiscal to fund business growth.
Engineering giant Larsen & Toubro gained 1.76 per cent. The company on Thursday secured construction-related orders valued worth Rs 747 crore. Except ONGC, all the components of the BSE-30 index ended with gains. ONGC settled 0.29 per cent lower at Rs 1,188.10.
The country’s most valued firm Reliance Industries rose 0.85 per cent to Rs 1,015.45.
