Sensex Rallies 1,345 Points, Nifty Settles Above 16,250; LIC Shares Fall On Market Debut

Indian equity benchmarks on Tuesday surged for the second consecutive session, led by gains in metal and energy stocks. The domestic indices rose sharply despite Life Insurance Corp of India's (LIC's) tepid market debut. Shares of LIC got listed at a discount of 8.62 per cent in early trade over the issue price of Rs 949. The stock finally settled 7.75 per cent lower at Rs 875.45 on BSE. On NSE, LIC tumbled 8.01 per cent to settle at Rs 873 on the first day of trading.

The 30-share BSE Sensex rallied 1,345 points or 2.54 per cent to close at 54,318, while the broader NSE Nifty moved 417 points or 2.63 per cent up to settle at 16,259.

Mid- and small-cap shares finished on a strong note as Nifty Midcap 100 jumped 2.73 per cent and small-cap soared 3.36 per cent.

All of the 15 sector gauges -- compiled by the National Stock Exchange -- settled in the green. Sub-indexes Nifty Metal and Nifty Oil & Gas outperformed the index by rising as much as 6.86 per cent and 3.68 per cent, respectively.

On the stock-specific front, Hindalco was the top gainer as the stock surged 9.80 per cent to Rs 429.25. Tata Steel, Coal India, JSW Steel and ONGC were also among the gainers.

The overall market breadth stood positive as 2,627 shares advanced while 713 declined on BSE.

All Sensex constituents finished with gains. On the 30-share BSE index, Tata Steel, Reliance Industries, ITC, Wipro, ICICI Bank, HCL Tech, L&T, Maruti, Bajaj Finance, Titan, SBI and TCS were among the top gainers.