Sensex soars 500 points, Nifty climbs 160 points to 21,622 after three days of losses

The positive movement was attributed to buying in heavyweight stocks and a firm trend in global markets, helping the indices recover from three consecutive days of losses.

The 30-share BSE Sensex gained 496.37 points, or 0.70 per cent, settling at 71,683.23. Throughout the day, it recorded a high of 708.78 points, or 0.99 per cent, reaching 71,895.64. The Nifty, on the other hand, saw an increase of 160.15 points, or 0.75 per cent, closing at 21,622.40. Over the past three days, the BSE benchmark has witnessed a decline of 2.91 per cent, while the Nifty fell by 2.87 per cent.

Among the Sensex firms, major gainers included Bharti Airtel, NTPC, Tech Mahindra, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Steel, UltraTech Cement, Titan, Axis Bank, JSW Steel, and Larsen & Toubro. However, IndusInd Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, HDFC Bank, and the State Bank of India were among the laggards.

In Asian markets, Seoul and Tokyo closed in the green, while Shanghai and Hong Kong ended lower. European markets were trading higher, and the US markets closed with gains on Thursday.

On the preceding Thursday, the BSE benchmark had fallen by 313.90 points, or 0.44 per cent, settling at 71,186.86, and the Nifty had declined by 109.70 points, or 0.51 per cent, closing at 21,462.25.

The global oil benchmark, Brent crude, saw a 0.63 per cent increase, reaching USD 79.60 a barrel. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were reported to have offloaded equities worth Rs 9,901.56 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.