Market Wrap, May 17: Sensex up 537 pts; Nifty over 11,400

Sensex and Nifty surged on the final day of a volatile week on Friday with both the benchmark indices gaining over a per cent each ahead of exit polls outcome on Sunday.

The benchmark Sensex zoomed almost 1.5 per cent, up 537 points, to close at 37,931, with Bajaj Finance, Hero MotoCorp, Maruti Suzuki India, Kotak Bank, and Bajaj Auto registering the biggest gains. Market breadth remained in favour of buyers with the advance-decline ratio at 3:2.

Kotak Mahindra, ICICI Bank, HDFC twins, and ITC were the biggest contributors in Sensex's march to the north.

The broader Nifty50 also surged 1.33 per cent, or 150 points, to end the day at 11,407. About 1,029 stocks advanced and 723 shares declined on National Stock Exchange.

Among sectoral indices, only three indices remained in the red, with Nifty Media gaining the highest 3.53 per cent. Nifty Bank, Nifty Auto, Nifty Finance Service, Nifty FMCG and Nifty Private Bank all rose more than 2 per cent.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap gained 153 points, or 1.08 per cent, at 14,308.36, while the S&P BSE SmallCap also rose 70 points, or 0.51 per cent, at 13,887.

Bajaj Finance shares hit a fresh all-time high of Rs 3,262, up 5 per cent, in early morning trade on the BSE on Friday after the company reported a better-than-expected profit and net interest income (NII) in March quarter.

Aurobindo Pharma shares fell 6 per cent to Rs 682 in early morning trade on the BSE on Friday after the drug firm announced that the American drug regulator classified the inspection of the company’s API intermediates facilities of Unit I, IX and XI as Official Action Indicated (OAI).