Sensex Surges Over 550 Points, Nifty Settles Above 11,300

The S&P BSE Sensex rallied over 550 points and Nifty 50 index moved above its psychological level of 11,300 led by gains in auto, information technology, financial services, metal and banking shares. Strong corporate earnings along with hopes that another flood of US stimulus would cushion the global impact of renewed coronavirus outbreaks lifted investors' sentiment. The Sensex rose as much as 620 points and Nifty 50 index touched an intraday high of 11,318.

The Sensex ended 558 points or 1.47 per cent higher at 38,492.95 and Nifty 50 index climbed 1.5 per cent or 169 points to close at 11,300.55.

"Markets have gained strength on the back of better-than-expected June quarter earnings and easy liquidity," analysts said.

Buying was visible across sectors as all the 19 sector gauges compiled by BSE ended higher led by Auto index's 3 per cent gain. Banking, IT, metal, financial services and realty indexes also rose over a per cent each.

Mid- and small-cap shares were largely in-line with their larger peers as the S&P BSE MidCap index rose 0.9 per cent and S&P BSE SmallCap index advanced 1.3 per cent.

UltraTech Cement was top Nifty gainer, the stock closed 7 per cent higher at Rs 4,131 after it reported a net profit of Rs 797.43 crore in the quarter ended June 30, and said it had "emerged stronger and well prepared" in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

Kotak Mahindra Bank, Tata Motors, Grasim Industries, Hindalco, TCS, IndusInd Bank and Shree Cements also rose between 4-5 per cent.

On the flipside, Bharti Infratel, ICICI Bank, Zee Entertainment, ONGC, Nestle, Asian Paints and Indian Oil were among the notable losers.