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| Edited By: |Source: PTI |Updated: Mar 17, 2018, 05:05 AM IST
Hectic buying activity at the fag-end of trade pushed up the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex by over 208 points today as funds squared up their pending positions amid a firming global trend.
After remaining range-bound for most of the day, the Sensex spurted to close with a gain of 208.27 points at 18,257.12 as information technology, FMCG, metal and banking stocks recorded handsome gains.
The broad-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty rose by 65 points to 5,479.15, after moving between 5,487.95 and 5,416.25 during the session.
Marketmen said the rally was sparked after a key report showed that factory output in the US has jumped twice as much as forecast, boosting investor confidence that global demand will be robust enough to drive corporate earnings growth.
They said the market, which had declined from 30 month high levels in recent sessions, was oversold and the recovery on the overseas front forced investors to cover up their pending long positions.
In the 30 BSE index component, 22 stocks closed with gains, while eight ended in the negative zone.
The information technology sector gained the most by adding 1.96% to 5,567.53 as Infosys Technologies rose by Rs52.85 to Rs2,805.15. Indian software exporters get more than 50% revenue from the US and European markets.
The FMCG sector was the second-best performer, rising by 1.45% to 3,355.22, followed by the metal segment, which gained 1.43% to 15,292.89.
The auto sector index advanced by 1.27% to 8,873.38 as Tata Motors, the owner of UK based luxury brand Jaguar Land Rover, added Rs42.10 to Rs1,047.60 on the back of record sales last month.
With buying activity spilling over a wide-front, the mid cap sector index rose by 0.85% to 7,760 and the small cap index by 0.70% to 9,786.70.
