Sensex rises 284 pts, Nifty tops 16,600; IndusInd jumps 8%, Bajaj Fin 3%

CLOSING BELL

Stock market highlights: Equity markets exhibited wild moves on the day of the weekly F&O expiry amid mixed global mood, and weak oil prices. The S&P BSE Sensex oscilatted in a band of 468 points, before ending at 55,682, up 284 points or 0.5 per cent.

The Nifty50, meanwhile, closed at 16,610, up 89 points or 0.54 per cent. It hit a high of 16,625, and a low of 16,484 during the day.

IndusInd Bank, L&T, Bajaj Finance, Tata Consumer Products, UPL, L&T, Bajaj Finserv, Asian Paints, Hindalco, and BPCL rose between 2 per cent and 8 per cent. Moreover, Tech M, Grasim, Divis Labs, Axis Bank, Adani Ports, Hindalco, Infosys, Bajaj Auto, and Power Grid added up to 2 per cent.  

On the downside, Kotak Bank, Dr Reddy's Labs, SBI Life, Cipla, and Reliance Industries fell the most, down up to 2 per cent.

The broader markets, however, outran the frontline indices with the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices climbing up to 1.3 per cent. Tata Communications, ABB, Cummins India, BHEL, Hindustan Foods, and Aegis Logistics were the lead runners.

ALSO READ: Mid-cap banks roar as Nifty Bank fires above 36,000

Among sectors, the Nifty PSB index rose 1.56 per cent, while the Nifty Pharma slipped 0.4 per cent.

Global cues

European stocks fell on Thursday as the region's investors awaited the European Central Bank's latest monetary policy decision. The FTSE index dropped 0.6 per cent, while the European STOXX 600 dipped 0.14 per cent. 

Early indication on Wall Street, too, suggested a tepid start. Futures linked to the three main US stock indices were down in the range of 0.15 per cent to 0.3 per cent.