Sensex, Nifty Surge Over 1% Led By Surge In Financial Stocks

Domestic stock markets surged more than 1 per cent on Tuesday and were on course to end higher for a second straight day, led by a strong buying interest in banking and financial services stocks. The S&P BSE Sensex index gained as much as 447.89 points - or 1.18 per cent - to touch 38,498.67 in late afternoon deals, and the broader NSE Nifty 50 benchmark climbed to as high as 11,382.75, up 135.65 points - or 1.21 per cent - from its previous close. (Track Sensex, Nifty Here)

At 2:14 pm, the Sensex traded 396.82 points - or 1.04 per cent - higher at 38,447.60 while the Nifty was up 119.65 points - or 1.06 per cent - at 11,366.75.

The Nifty Bank - comprising stocks of 12 major lenders in the country, including SBI, HDFC Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank - traded 1.58 per cent higher at the time, having risen as much as 1.86 per cent earlier during the session.

Top percentage gainers in the 50-scrip Nifty basket were Grasim, Zee Entertainment, UltraTech Cement, Kotak Mahindra Bank and UPL, trading between 2.55 per cent and 7.46 per cent higher.

On the other hand, Bharat Petroleum, Tech Mahindra, GAIL and Cipla, down between 0.73 per cent and 1.39 per cent each, were the worst hit among the 10 Nifty laggards.

HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank were the top boosts for the Sensex, together contributing more than 250 points to the gain in the index.

"There have been fundraising plans, improvement in margins, most companies have improved their efficiency post lockdown and this is helping sentimentally," said Anita Gandhi, director at Arihant Capital Markets.

"Good rainfall progress is helping rural economy revival and metals and auto stocks are now seeing gains on hopes that there could be government spending for these sectors going forward."