Sensex, Nifty surge on buying in IT stocks, foreign fund inflows

Mumbai: Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty maintained their winning run on Thursday, rising 1 per cent, propelled by buying in IT stocks amid a rally in the US markets and fresh foreign fund inflows.

Rallying for the fifth day running, the 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex jumped 809.53 points, or 1 per cent, to settle at 81,765.86. During the day, it soared 1,361.41 points, or 1.68 per cent, to 82,317.74.

The NSE Nifty surged 240.95 points, or 0.98 per cent, to 24,708.40.

From the 30-share Sensex pack, Tata Consultancy Services, Titan, Infosys, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Finance, ICICI Bank, HCL Technologies, and Tech Mahindra were the biggest gainers.

NTPC and Asian Paints were the laggards.

US markets ended in the positive territory on Wednesday.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 1,797.60 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.

"Dow moving past 45,000 for the first time is an indicator of the strength of the US market rally. The macro construct in the US -- strong growth and declining inflation support this rally. The Fed chief Powell's remark yesterday that the 'economy is in remarkably good shape' is a shot in the arm for the US bulls," V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services, said.

FIIs turning buyers is positive for markets, particularly for largecaps, he added.

In Asian markets, Tokyo, and Shanghai settled higher while Seoul and Hong Kong ended lower. European markets were trading higher.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude went up 0.53 per cent to USD 72.68 a barrel.

The BSE barometer climbed 110.58 points, or 0.14 per cent, to settle at 80,956.33 on Wednesday. The Nifty went up marginally by 10.30 points, or 0.04 per cent, to 24,467.45.