Sensex darts up 232 points; Nifty above 12,100

 Market benchmark Sensex rallied 231.80 points on Wednesday, driven by gains in index heavyweights HDFC Bank, ITC, RIL and Infosys.

The 30-share BSE index settled 231.80 points, or 0.57 per cent, higher at 41,198.66. It hit an intra-day high of 41,334.86 and a low of 41,108.19.

Likewise, the broader NSE Nifty closed 73.70 points, or 0.61 per cent, up at 12,129.50.

In the Sensex pack, Bajaj Finance was the biggest gainer, rising 4.95 per cent, followed by Nestle India, ITC, Infosys and NTPC.

On the other hand, TCS, HDFC, Sun Pharma, ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel and Axis Bank ended in the negative territory.

According to traders, recovery in global equities and hopes of growth-boosting measures in the upcoming Budget buoyed market sentiment.

Further, short-covering ahead of January derivatives expiry also lifted key indices, they said.

Bourses in Japan and South Korea ended with gains, while Hong Kong closed with sharp losses as the market opened after the Lunar New Year break. Bourses in China remained closed.

Stock exchanges in Europe opened on a positive note, even as investors assessed the risks posed by the Wuhan coronavirus.

Brent crude oil futures rose 0.71 per cent to USD 59.93 per barrel.

On the currency front, the Indian rupee appreciated by 8 paise to 71.23 per US dollar (intra-day).