Sensex, Nifty jump over 1%, post third weekly gain

Zee Media Bureau

Mumbai: Markets finished the day on a high note after Sensex rose to 2-month high and the Nifty settled above 7,600 in trades today. The rally was led by gains in bluechip stocks such as TCS, Infosys and HDFC.

The Sensex rose 275 points to close at 24,953 and the 50-share Nifty advanced 92 points to settle at 7,604. Nifty ended above 7,600 for the first time since Jan 8 2016.

In the broader market, the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices closed 0.6-0.7% higher. Market breadth ended marginally weak with 1,315 losers and 1,293 gainers on the BSE.

TCS was among the top Nifty gainers. The stock rose 3 per cent to close atRs 2,426.

Vedanta, Hindalco, ACC, GAIL India, Bosch, Infosys, Adani Ports, State Bank of India, HDFC, BHEL, Wipro, Tata Steel and Punjab National Bank were also among the gainers.

While Lupin was the top Nifty loser the stock closed 7.2 per cent lower at Rs.1,554.

Foreign investors have bought a net $1.77 billion of shares so far in March, versus this year`s outflows of $1.1 billion.

Blue chips, which are heavily owned by foreign investors were among the leading gainers, with Infosys and State Bank of India up 2.7 percent and 2.6 percent respectively.