The BSE Sensex jumped about 322 points on Wednesday to close at a one-week high of 31,770.89, while the NSE Nifty topped the 9,900-mark on unabated buying by domestic investors amid firm global cues on receding tensions between the U.S. and North Korea.
Sentiment remained upbeat for the better part of the day on account of positive leads from European markets before the release of the latest Federal Reserve minutes and British unemployment data.
Stocks of consumer goods companies were back in the limelight on value-buying, recovering from recent losses sparked by worries over the impact from recently launched Goods and Services Tax (GST) in July.
Caution prevailed as retail or CPI inflation jumped more than expected to 2.36 per cent in July, reducing the chances of another interest rate cut by the Reserve Bank of India, while wholesale inflation rose sharply to 1.88 per cent in July, the first rise in five months.
The 30-share Sensex zoomed 321.86 points or 1.02 per cent to close at 31,770.89, its highest closing since August 9, when it had closed at 31,797.84. Intra-day, the gauge shuttled between 31,805.99 and 31,399.35.
The NSE Nifty, which again went past the 9,900-mark to touch a high of 9,903.95 intra-day, finally settled 103.15 points, or 1.05 per cent higher at 9,897.30.
In line with the overall trend, small-cap index ended 1.31 per cent higher, while mid-cap index surged 1.26 per cent. Stock exchanges were shut yesterday on account of “Independence Day”.
