The Indian equity benchmarks extended gains for second straight session on Thursday led by gains in Reliance Industries, which surged to record high of Rs 2,788.80 on the BSE. The Sensex rallied as much as 954 points and Nifty 50 index briefly surpassed its important psychological level of 17,400. The bnechmarks staged a gap up opening and added to gains on the back of shortcovering rally after the markets went into oversold zone.
The Sensex rose 874 points to close 57,912 and Nifty 50 index climbed 256 points to close at 17,393.
HDFC Bank, Infosys, ICICI Bank, Tata Consultancy Services and Bajaj Finance were also among the leading movers in the Sensex amid strong global cues.
Buying was visible across sectors as all the 15 sector gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange ended higher led by the Nifty Auto index's 2.23 per cent. Nifty Financial Services, Bank, IT, Pharma, PSU Bank, Private Bank, Realty, Healthcare and Consumer Durable indexes also rose between 1-2 per cent.
Mid- and small-cap shares also witnessed buying interest as Nifty Midcap 100 index rose 1 per cent and Nifty Smallcap 100 index rose 1.55 per cent.
Reliance Industries was among the top Nifty gainer, the stock advanced as much as 2 per cent to hit record high of Rs 2,789 on the National Stock Exchange after its telecom arm Reliance Jio took a lead over Bharti Airtel to become the country's second-largest fixed-line service provider in February 2022, according to data published by the sector regulator Trai.
Eicher Motors, Coal India, Mahindra & Mahindra, Adani Ports, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Maruti Suzuki, HDFC, Asian Paints, Apollo Hospitals, Sun Pharma and Bajaj Finance also rose between 2-4.4 per cent.
On the flipside, Cipla, Handalco, ONGC, Bajaj Auto, Tata Steel, Nestle India, JSW Steel and Bharti Airtel were among the losers.
The overall market breadth was positive as 2,303 shares ended higher while 1,115 closed lower on the BSE.
