Markets march higher on RBI stance; IT, financials spurt

Mumbai: The Sensex surged 362 points while the Nifty reclaimed the 11,200-mark on Thursday after the RBI left interest rates unchanged but maintained an accommodative stance to shore up growth.

After rallying 558 points during the day, the BSE Sensex ended 362.12 points or 0.96 per cent higher at 38,025.45.

The broader NSE Nifty jumped 98.50 points or 0.89 per cent to finish at 11,200.15.

Tata Steel was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising 3.82 per cent, followed by Infosys, Bajaj Finance, HCL Tech, TCS, ICICI Bank and Tech Mahindra.

On the other hand, M&M, Bharti Airtel, L&T and Axis Bank were among the laggards, shedding up to 0.75 per cent.

Sectorally, rate-sensitive banking, realty and auto indices settled up to 1.15 per cent higher.

BSE IT, teck, FMCG, consumer durables, metal and realty indices jumped as much as 2.21 per cent, while telecom, capital goods and power ended in the red.

Broader BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices climbed up to 0.99 per cent.

Global equities stayed on the backfoot as investors awaited finalisation of a US stimulus package.

Bourses in Hong Kong and Tokyo closed lower, while Shanghai and Seoul ended in the green.

Stock exchanges in Europe were also trading on a negative note in early deals.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, slipped 0.04 per cent to $45.19 per barrel.