Bourses extend gains for third day in row; RIL, HDFC & Infosys witness heavy buying

Mumbai: Extending gains for a third day in a row, benchmark Sensex and Nifty on Wednesday rallied over 1 per cent to end at over six-week high levels on buying in RIL, Infosys, HDFC twins and ICICI Bank following gains in Asian equities amid hopes of a breakthrough in Russia-Ukraine peace talks.

The 30-share BSE Sensex surged by 740.34 points or 1.28 per cent to settle at over six-week high of 58,683.99, a day ahead of the derivatives expiry on Thursday. As many as 21 of Sensex stocks ended in green. During the day, it jumped 784.13 points or 1.35 per cent to 58,727.78. The broader NSE Nifty climbed 172.95 points or 1 per cent to settle at 17,498.25, the highest closing level since February 10.

Among Sensex stocks, Bajaj Finserv was the biggest gainer, rising by 3.82 per cent. Mahindra & Mahindra, Bajaj Finance, Power Grid, HDFC, ICICI Bank, Nestle, Maruti, Reliance Industries Limited were among the lead gainers.

On the other hand, ITC, Tata Steel, Tech Mahindra, Bharti Airtel and Titan were among the laggards.

Among sectoral indices, BSE Finance rose by 1.71 per cent, BSE realty by 1.49 per cent, BSE Bankex by 1.36 per cent, and industrials by 1.25 per cent.

The rupee declined by 17 paise to close at 75.90 against the US dollar on Wednesday as surging crude oil prices and fuel rate hikes by the oil marketing companies fanned fears of inflation and interest rate hikes.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude jumped 2.25 per cent to $112.7 per barrel. Foreign portfolio investors turned buyers as they bought shares worth Rs 35.47 crore on Tuesday, according to stock exchange data.