Sensex shoots 318 points, Nifty above 10,500, IT, teck stocks gain

The BSE Sensex rallied over 318 points on Thursday, on fresh buying in IT, teck, capital goods and healthcare counters amid mixed overseas cues.

Buying by domestic institutional investors and strengthening rupee also supported the recovery, brokers said.

Asian stocks traded mixed amid caution over US-China trade relations. US stocks closed higher on Wednesday after minutes from the Federal Reserve’s meeting reassured investors that the central bank will not be too aggressive with raising interest rates.

The BSE Sensex closed 318.20 points or 0.93% higher at 34,663.1 on Thursday, while the wider NSE Nifty 50 settled the day up 83.50 points or 0.80%. The BSE gauge had lost 306.33 points in the previous session.

The Nifty IT index ended 2.31% higher, with Infosys and TCS leading the gains.

Major gainers on the BSE Sensex were Bharti Airtel, Infosys, TCS, Sun Pharma, SBI and ICICI Bank, gaining up to 4.11%.

However, Tata Motors plunged 6.56% after the company on Wednesday reported a 49.82% decline in consolidated net profit at Rs 2,176.16 crore for the March quarter with its British arm JLR continuing to face challenges in the UK and Europe, in addition to one time impairment charge.

Meanwhile, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 789.78 crore, while foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 311.11 crore on Wednesday, as per provisional data.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.21% higher in Wedensday’strade but geopolitical and trade concerns continued to dent investor sentiment.