Sensex Closes 255 Points Higher, Nifty Reclaims 11,750 As Markets Rebound

Domestic share markets bounced back on Friday led by financial and metal stocks, a day after benchmark indices halted their longest winning streak in nearly six years. The S&P BSE Sensex index jumped as much as 1 per cent - or 397.3 points - to 40,125.71 during the session, and the broader NSE Nifty 50 benchmark climbed to as high as 11,789.75, up 0.94 per cent - or 109.4 points - from its previous close. On Thursday, both benchmarks had shed around 2.5 per cent - their worst single-day loss since September 24 - amid a selloff in global markets amid fears of a second wave of COVID-19 infections.

The Sensex ended 254.57 points - or 0.64 per cent - higher at 39,982.98, and the Nifty settled at 11,762.45, up 82.10 points - or 0.70 per cent - from its previous close. 

JSW Steel, Tata Steel, Bharat Petroleum, Hindalco, Divi's Laboratories and HDFC Bank, closing between 2.84 per cent and 6.69 per cent higher, were the top percentage gainers in the Nifty basket of 50 shares. 

On the other hand, UPL, HCL Tech, Mahindra & Mahindra, Asian Paints and Reliance Industries - ending 1.26-7.73 per cent lower each - were the worst hit among 11 laggards in the index.

HDFC Bank, Infosys and Kotak Mahindra Bank were the biggest contributors to the gain in Sensex.

HCL Technologies shares ended 3.76 per cent lower at Rs 827.10 apiece on the BSE, after the IT major reported its financial results for the September quarter and announced a dividend of Rs 4.

The Nifty Bank index - which tracks stocks of 12 major lenders in the country - ended 2 per cent higher, led by gains HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Axis Bank, which rose around 2-3 per cent each. 

Market breadth favoured gains, as 1,051 stocks rose on the NSE against 746 that fell. 

Friday's gains were broad-based, with sharp gains in the mid- and small-cap segments. The S&P BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices closed 1.05 per cent and 0.97 per cent higher respectively.

Shares of Tata Group firms Titan Company, Tata Steel and TCS rose between 0.7 per cent and 2.1 per cent. The conglomerate had on Thursday said it had not received any formal proposal from the Shapoorji Pallonji Group to separate its interests.