Bulls propel markets to new heights as IT, finance & power stocks shine

Mumbai: The BSE Sensex defied gravity for the third session on the trot on Thursday, propelled by robust buying in IT, finance and power stocks amid a rally in global

equities.

Investors' wealth has soared by Rs 8,58,979.67 crore in three days of market rally, with domestic bourses climbing in tandem with global equities amid abating concerns over the economic impact of the Omicron variant.

The 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex jumped 384.72 points or 0.68 per cent to end at 57,315.28. Similarly, the NSE Nifty advanced 117.15 points or 0.69 per cent to 17,072.60.

PowerGrid was the top gainer among the Sensex constituents, rising 3.40 per cent, followed by ITC, Bajaj Finance, Infosys, NTPC, Tech Mahindra, Wipro and SBI.

In contrast, Bharti Airtel, Sun Pharma, Maruti, UltraTech Cement, Asian Paints and ICICI Bank were among the laggards, shedding up to 0.93 per cent.

Sectorally, BSE realty, oil and gas, power, utilities, IT and FMCG indices climbed as much as 2.21 per cent, while telecom and metal logged losses. Broader BSE midcap and smallcap indices spurted up to 1.01 per cent.

World stocks ticked higher amid reports that the Omicron strain of the coronavirus is less severe than the Delta variant, though rising cases remained a cause for concern.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul ended with gains.

Stock exchanges in Europe were also trading on a positive note in mid-session deals.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude slipped 0.08 per cent to $75.22 per barrel.

However, foreign institutional investors remained net sellers in the capital market on Wednesday, as they offloaded shares worth Rs 827.26 crore, as per stock exchange data.