Sensex Rallies 610 Points, Reclaims 74,000

Mumbai, Mar 6 (PTI) Benchmark stock index Sensex rallied nearly 610 points to reclaim the 74,000 mark while Nifty closed above 22,500 in their second day of gains on Thursday following heavy buying in Reliance Industries on easing crude oil prices.

Recovering from early losses, the 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 609.86 points or 0.83 per cent to settle at 74,340.09. During the day, it surged 660.57 points or 0.89 per cent to hit a high of 74,390.80.

The broader Nifty of NSE advanced 207.40 points or 0.93 per cent to close at 22,544.70. In the session, the 50-share barometer jumped 219.15 points or 0.98 per cent to hit an intraday high of 22,556.45.

From the Sensex pack, Asian Paints, NTPC, Reliance Industries, Tata Steel, Bajaj Finserv, Hindustan Unilever, Sun Pharmaceuticals, Adani Ports & SEZ, Axis Bank, Tata Consultancy Services, Titan and Bajaj Finance were the major gainers.

Tech Mahindra, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Zomato, Tata Motors, and IndusInd Bank were the laggards.

"The Indian indices exhibited resilience, owing to positive global cues following Trump's softened tariff stance on automakers from Canada & Mexico amidst the weakening dollar index," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services said.

A correction in crude oil prices, influenced by a slowdown in demand and further economic stimulus from China, ignited optimism in the energy and metals sectors, Nair added.

Broader markets also closed higher with the BSE smallcap gauge climbing 1.63 per cent and midcap index advancing 0.65 per cent.

Among the BSE sectoral indices, Energy, metal, Oil & Gas, Commodities, Utilities, Services, Power, healthcare, FMCG and Industrials were the gainers.

Telecommunication and Realty were the laggards.

As many as 3,007 stocks advanced while 989 declined and 107 remained unchanged on the BSE.

In Asian markets, Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Seoul ended higher.

European markets in the mid-session deals were trading on a mixed note. Wall Street ended in the positive zone on Wednesday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude rose by 0.52 per cent to USD 69.66 a barrel.

Meanwhile, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 2,895.04 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.

On Wednesday, the BSE Sensex surged by 740.30 points to close at 73,730.23. Cutting short its record 10-day falling streak, the broader Nifty of NSE rebounded by 254.65 points to settle at 22,337.30.