Banks, Wipro lift indices in fag-end; Sensex up 401 pts, Nifty tops 17,700

CLOSING BELL: The gains in benchmark indices were led by HDFC Life (up 6.4 per cent), Wipro, ICICI Bank, Titan, Axis Bank, SBI, Hero MotoCorp, Grasim, and Adani Ports

BSE

Stock market highlights: Equity markets gained momentum in the fag-end of the session as investors turned to financial sector stocks, especially those of public sector banks. The S&P BSE Sensex, after staying listless for better part of the day, rallied 401 points, or 0.67 per cent, to end at 60,056.

The Nifty50, meanwhile, surpassed the 17,700-mark to settle at 17,743, up 119 points. The gains in these indices were led by HDFC Life (up 6.4 per cent), Wipro, ICICI Bank, Titan, Axis Bank, SBI, Hero MotoCorp, Grasim, and Adani Ports.

The broader markets, which were leading the frontline indices during the earlier part of the day, ended as underperformers. The BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices settled with gains of up to 0.47 per cent.

Among sectoral indices, the Nifty PSU Bank index advanced 2.6 per cent, followed by the Nifty Bank, Financial Services, Private Bank, and Realty indices, up 1 per cent each.

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4:16 PM

COMMENT:: Strong Q4 earnings by heavyweights revived market sentiment

The positive market sentiment in the domestic market was boosted by strong earnings reported by heavyweights. This led to a reversal in the cautiousness from initial below expectation FYQ4 results. However, the weak global sentiment did raise some concerns midway. But the banking sector played a key role in this upward trend, with sector majors reporting strong earnings.

- Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services

4:12 PM

Bank Nifty:: Index can rally up to 43,000/ 43,300

The BANK NIFTY index witnessed a strong breakout on the daily chart with a sharp surge in volumes. The index remains in a strong buy mode and any dip should be an ideal opportunity to add on the long positions. The lower-end support is visible at 42,300 which will act as a cushion for the bulls and the potential upside targets are 43,000/43,300.

- Kunal Shah, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities

4:10 PM

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4:09 PM

HDFC Life surges 7% as RBI allows HDFC Bank to up stake beyond 50%

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4:07 PM

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4:05 PM

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4:03 PM

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4:01 PM

Ircon Int'l, RVNL surge up to 10%, hit 52-week high on heavy volumes

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3:59 PM

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3:57 PM

Sun Pharma slips after USFDA notice to Mohali facility

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