The Sensex and Nifty snapped their longest losing streak so far this year due to value-buying by domestic institutional investors in realty, banking, healthcare and metal stocks amid firm global cues.
Domestic sentiment was buoyed due to short-covering by speculators owing to September month derivatives expiry.
According to brokers, strengthening of rupee by 22 paise to 65.50 (intra-day) had a positive influence too.
“Short-covering ahead of the F&O expiry gave muscle to relief rallies,” said Anand James, chief market strategist, Geojit Financial Services Ltd.
The 30-share BSE index Sensex gained 122.67 points or 0.39 per cent to end at 31,282.48, while the 50-share NSE index Nifty ended 33.2 points or 0.34 per cent higher at 9,768.95. Both indexes had fallen in the previous seven sessions, marking their longest losing run since mid-December.
Among BSE sectoral indices, realty index gained the most by 0.91 per cent, followed by banking 0.77 per cent, healthcare 0.69 per cent and metal 0.68 per cent. On the other hand, consumer durables index was down 0.33 per cent, capital goods 0.32 per cent, oil & gas 0.13 per cent and IT 0.1 per cent.
Top five Sensex gainers were Kotak Bank (+3.05%), Dr Reddy's (+2.62%), Coal India (+2.32%), Maruti (+2.11%) and Cipla (+2.05%), while the major losers were Asian Paints (-2.73%), Reliance (-1.48%), Wipro (-1.18%), Bharti Airtel (-0.77%) and Tata Motors (-0.69%).
Global markets
The dollar and global borrowing costs rose on Thursday after President Donald Trump proposed the biggest shake-up of the US tax system in three decades and strong data supported the case for another Federal Reserve rate hike later this year.
The dollar's strength pressured many emerging market currencies and commodities, but Europe's main stock markets gave Trump's blueprint the cautious thumbs up after Wall Street and Japan's Nikkei had gained overnight.
Asian shares were firm , while US bond yields and the dollar held sizeable gains made the previous day after President Donald Trump proposed the biggest US tax overhaul in three decades. Japan's Nikkei rose 0.5 per cent, while MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was little changed in early trade.
US stocks jumped on Wednesday as gains in financial shares were powered by growing expectations for a December interest rate hike and on hopes President Donald Trump’s administration may be making progress on a tax plan.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average index rose 56.39 points or 0.25 per cent to 22,340. The S&P500 index gained 10.2 points or 0.41 per cent to 2,507. The Nasdaq Composite index added 73.10 points or 1.15 per cent to 6,453.