Snapping its longest 9-day losing spell in about a decade, the BSE Sensex spurted over 308 points on Friday to close at 18,518, as investors bought stocks at lower levels amid falling crude oil and other commodity prices.

The 30-share Bombay Stock Exchange index, Sensex, which had lost about 1,392 points in the last nine sessions, bounced back 308.23 points to 18,518.81.

The gauge touched intra-day high of 18,568.48, and brokers said it was the best performer in the Asian region. It had lost 7.1 per cent in the past nine days, the longest losing spell since September 2001.

Similarly, the broad-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty shot up 91.60 points to 5,551.45 as stocks in banking, auto and IT sectors recording handsome gains. The Nifty touched the day’s high of 5,564.40 points.

Brokers said that easing world commodity prices reduced inflation concerns and bolstered trading sentiment. The Standard and Poor’s GSCI index of 24 commodities fell the most since January 2009.

Crude oil plunged 8.6 per cent to 99.80 dollar a barrel in the US. Brent crude prices also fell sharply. India imports about 75 per cent of its crude oil requirements.

Besides, some metals on the London Metal Exchange Index showed the biggest drop since November. Gold and silver also declined.

The most beaten BSE stocks recently - banking, auto, IT and realty - were the major gainers.

The banking sector index gained the most by 3.71 per cent to 12,670.76 as ICICI Bank rose 5.16 per cent to Rs 1,081.35, leading the gains.

The auto sector index was second best performer, rising 3.13 per cent to 9,218.92 as Mahindra and Mahindra, gained 2.98 per cent to Rs 712.55 and Tata Motors rose 5.65 per cent to Rs 1,200.95.

The two most heaviest on the Sensex, with 23 per cent weightage - Reliance Industries and Infosys Technologies - recorded smart gains and supported the uptrend. RIL rose 0.62 per cent to Rs 955.40 and Infosys by 1.54 percent to Rs 2,886.90

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