The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex surged for the second day on Thursday adding 278 points on heavy buying in banking, auto and refinery stocks in line with firming Asian and European markets.
The 30-share index, which had rallied 365 points in the previous session, jumped further by 278.56 points to close at 16,666.40 points.
Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty regained the 5,000 points level by gaining 85.70 points to 5,003.10 points.
Brokers said a firming trend in the Asian region and a higher opening in European stock markets this afternoon boosted the trading sentiment on domestic front.
Investors adjusting their pending short positions on the last day of monthly derivatives contracts also added to the rally, they said.
The gauge touched the day’s high of 16,694.55 but eased as foreign funds dumped shares. FIIs have sold shares worth USD 2.3 billion so far in May, their biggest pullout since October 2008, on concerns over debt crisis in Europe.
Among the 30 BSE index stocks, 26 stocks gained. All the sectoral indices closed higher with gains up to 2.55 per cent.
Market leader Reliance Industries shot up by 1.44 per cent to Rs 1,021.85 and the second-heaviest Infosys by 0.95 per cent to Rs 2,643.45. HDFC Bank rose by 3.78 per cent to Rs 1,894.95 and HDFC by 2.37 per cent to Rs 2,754.45. All the four carry nearly 34 per cent weightage on the index.
The banking sector index gained the most rising 2.55 per cent to 10,511.40, followed by the auto sector index by 2.10 per cent to 7,449.22. The oil and gas index rose by 2.09 per cent to 9,932.42 and the realty sector index by 1.70 per cent to 3,006.11.
Among Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei rose 1.23 per cent, Hong Kong by 1.22 per cent and China’s Shanghai by 1.15 per cent. In European region, London’s FTSE opened up by 2.15 per cent.
