The post-Budget glow continued for the third day in a row as the benchmark Sensex today soared 364 points to 24,607 -- nearly a one-month high -- driven by a buying uptick amid positive global cues.
Most Asian indices ended on a firm footing, tracking overnight gains in the US on the back of solid job numbers and strength in commodities, which cheered up investors.
Buying accelerated on expectations that RBI would reciprocate the government's commitment to fiscal prudence with a rate cut sooner than later after a private survey showed that services sector activity fell to a 3-month low amid muted growth in new orders.
The 30-share Sensex ended the session at 24,606.99, its highest closing since February 8, up 364.01 points, or 1.50 per cent.
This is its best three-day gain since September 2013.
The gauge had gained 1,241 points in the previous two sessions after the presentation of the Budget 2016-17.
The NSE Nifty regained control of the crucial 7,400-mark and added 106.75 points, or 1.45 per cent, at 7,475.60 at the close.
Lending more shine to the growth story, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said it expects India to grow at 7.3 per cent this fiscal and 7.5 per cent next year even as recovery remains uneven, which boosted sentiment.
Data showed that foreign institutional investors, who had been major sellers for several sessions, net bought shares worth Rs 1,437.50 crore in yesterday's trade, adding to the level of optimism.
The rupee appreciated for the fifth straight day against the dollar, keeping mood upbeat.
All barring four in the 30-share Sensex pack advanced.
Tata Steel led the charge by surging 7.17 per cent to Rs 286.30 while Tata Motors zoomed 6.10 per cent to Rs 336.35.
L&T, BHEL, Dr Reddy's, GAIL, Adani Ports, TCS, Axis Bank and Sun Pharma too supported the upmove.
ICICI Bank, ITC, NTPC and Maruti Suzuki, however, lost.
BSE capital jumped the most (up 4.12 per cent) followed by metal (4.05 per cent), auto (2.08 per cent), infrastructure (1.97 per cent), healthcare (1.69 per cent) and oil and gas (1.54 per cent).
Broader markets were in the green too, with the small-cap index rising 1.35 per cent and mid-cap 0.58 per cent.
"FIIs are coming back stronger to India compared to other
emerging markets as elaborated by the outperformance this week. Signs of stabilisation in the global market coupled with a disciplined Union Budget provided an edge to the Indian market," said Vinod Nair, Head-Fundamental Research, Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services.
The market breadth remained positive as 1,736 stocks ended higher and 899 closed lower while 145 ruled steady out of the total 2,780.
The total turnover declined to Rs 2,869.89 crore, from Rs 3,356.08 crore yesterday.
