Sensex adds 428 pts, Nifty ends near 16,150; PSBs, OMCs rally; RIL down 1%

CLOSING BELL

Stock market highlights: Bulls had firm control over benchmark indices for a second straight day on Thursday as falling commodity prices eased inflationary concerns. Vilatility index, India VIX, cooled off over 6 per cent on weekly F&O expiry day.

According to analysts at Morgan Stanley, inflation risk has peaked in Asian economies, including India. It believes interest rate hikes may moderate going ahead with growth concerns creeping in. READ MORE

Overall, the BSE Sensex jumped 427.5 point, or 0.8 per cent, to end at 54,178.5 levels, while the Nifty50 ended at 16,133, up 143 points or 0.89 per cent. Both the indices hit intra-day highs of 54,255 and 16,151, respectively.

21 of the 30 Sensex constituents, and 38 of the Nifty50 constituents closeed in the positive zone led by Hindalco, Titan Company, Tata Steel, L&T, Tata Motors, JSW Steel, UPL, and IndusInd Bank. These stocks rallied in the range of 3-6 per cent.

On the flipside, Dr Reddy's Labs, Cipla, Bajaj Finance, Bharti Airtel, Nestle India, Reliance Industries, and HUL fell around 1 per cent each. It was, largely, a broad-based rally where the Nifty PSU Bank index advanced the most, up 3.4 per cent. The Nifty FMCG index, meanwhile, settled 0.08 per cent down.

In the broader markets, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices edged over 1 per cent higher.