Markets snap 4 days of decline, Sensex up 345 pts

Mumbai: Benchmark BSE Sensex rebounded by 344 points while Nifty closed above the 16,000 level in choppy trade on Friday, snapping four days of decline on buying in FMCG, auto and capital goods counters.

The 30-share BSE barometer climbed 344.63 points or 0.65 per cent to settle at 53,760.78 as 18 of its scrips ended in the green. During the day, it jumped 395.22 points or 0.73 per cent to a high of 53,811.37. The broader NSE Nifty closed above the 16,000 level by gaining 110.55 points or 0.69 per cent to 16,049.20 as 35 of its constituents closed with gains.

Benchmark stock indices remained volatile but managed to close with modest gains on value buying in FMCG, auto, capital goods and select banking counters in the last hour of the trade.

Among Sensex constituents, Hindustan Unilever, Titan, Maruti, Larsen & Toubro, HDFC, Mahindra & Mahindra, Nestle and Bharti Airtel were the major gainers. Tata Steel, Power Grid, HCL Technologies, Wipro, Dr Reddy's and Axis Bank were the laggards.

The rupee on Friday rebounded from the near-80 levels to close higher by 17 paise at 79.82 against the US currency following a recovery in the domestic stocks and weakness in the greenback in overseas markets.