Sensex surges 488 points amid global rally; Nifty ends near 17,800

Mumbai, October 7

Equity benchmark Sensex rallied 488 points on Thursday, tracking gains in Titan, TCS and ICICI Bank amid a positive trend in global equities.

The 30-share BSE index ended 488.10 points or 0.82 per cent higher at 59,677.83. Similarly, the NSE Nifty rose 144.35 points or 0.82 per cent to 17,790.35.

Titan was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, zooming over 10 per cent, followed by Mamp;M, Maruti, IndusInd Bank, Asian Paints, Sun Pharma, HCL, TCS, Tech Mahindra and ICICI Bank.

On the other hand, Dr Reddy’s, HDFC, Bajaj Finserv, Nestle India and HUL were among the laggards.

“Bulls stepped up the accelerator ahead of the RBI policy, led by the auto Index which was up 4.5 per cent in afternoon trade. As the festive season commenced we saw heightened activity in textiles, consumer durables and real estate stocks,” said S Ranganathan, Head of Research at LKP Securities.

The IT Index lent good support ahead of earnings starting on Friday.

“While the street would be keen to watch the RBI stance tomorrow, the market breadth was very good with the small and midcap indices buzzing with optimism,” he added.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Hong Kong, Seoul and Tokyo ended with significant gains. Shanghai was closed for holidays.

Stock exchanges in Europe were also trading on a positive note in mid-session deals.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude slipped 0.97 per cent to USD 80.29 per barrel. PTI