Sensex surges 224 points; Nifty tops 9,550-mark

Extending its rising streak to the third session, equity benchmark Sensex jumped 224 points on Friday, driven by gains in HDFC, ITC and HUL despite weak cues from global markets.

After gyrating 656.72 points during the day, the 30-share BSE index rebounded from the day's low to settle 223.51 points or 0.69 per cent higher at 32,424.10. It hit an intra-day high of 32,480.52 and a low of 31,823.80.

The NSE Nifty advanced 90.20 points or 0.95 per cent to 9,580.30. During the day, it touched a high of 9,598.85 and a low of 9,376.90.

ONGC was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, jumping over 5 per cent, followed by Bajaj Auto, ITC, Sun Pharma, Nestle India, L&T, Maruti, UltraTech Cement and HUL.

On the other hand, Infosys, Axis Bank, Bharti Airtel, TCS and Titan were among the laggards.

Besides stock-specific action, heavy foreign fund inflows lent buying confidence to domestic investors, analysts said.

On a net basis, foreign portfolio investors bought equities worth Rs 2,354.14 crore on Thursday, provisional exchange data showed.

Further, markets witnessed volatility as India registered its biggest single-day spike of 7,466 coronavirus cases.

The number of COVID-19 cases in India crossed 1.65 lakh and the death toll climbed to 4,706, as per health ministry data.

Globally, the number of cases linked to the disease has crossed 58.10 lakh, with the death toll at around 3.60 lakh.

Meanwhile, bourses in Hong Kong and Tokyo closed on a negative note, while Shanghai and Seoul finished with gains.

Stock exchanges in Europe were trading in the red in early deals.

International oil benchmark Brent crude futures slipped 2.33 per cent to USD 35.19 per barrel.

On the currency front, the rupee appreciated 14 paise to provisionally close at 75.62 against the US dollar.