Sensex soars 576 points to log biggest one-day rally in nearly 3 months

Mumbai: Market benchmark Sensex on Wednesday soared nearly 576 points -- its biggest single-session gain in nearly three months -- to end at 25,881.17 and the NSE Nifty crossed the 7,900-mark on a flurry of buying by foreign funds and retail investors amid a firm overseas cues.

The rupee recovering against the dollar from 2-1/2 month low and a string of encouraging earning numbers also contributed to the upmove amid covering-up of pending short positions by speculators ahead of tomorrow's May monthly expiry in the derivatives segment, brokers said.

Buying activity gathered momentum as global equities rallied after investors also adjusted to the prospect of a US rate hike in the near future amid a surge in home sales.

The Sensex opened strong at 25,432.10 and continued to rise to hit the day's high of 25,897.87. Finally, it settled at one-month high of 25,881.17, a gain of 575.70 points or 2.28 percent -- its biggest single-day gain since March 1.

The 50-share NSE Nifty recaptured the 7,900-mark to hit a high of 7,941.20 before winding up at 7,934.90, a hefty rise of 186.05 points or 2.40 percent.

From the 30-share Sensex pack, 29 scrips ended higher. Cipla ended in the red with a fall of 4.97 percent at Rs 470.30 after pharma major March numbers came below market expectations.

ICICI Bank emerged as the top gainer from the index by climbing 4.48 percent to Rs 234.45 while BHEL jumped 4.34 percent to Rs 122.65 after the company said it has commissioned the first 800 mw supercritical thermal unit in Raichur, Karnataka.

Shares of Bajaj Auto climbed 3.96 percent to Rs 2,478.85 after the company reported 29.18 percent growth in standalone net profit to Rs 803.06 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31.

Other major gainers included L&T 4.02 percent, Maruti (3.47 percent), SBI (3.30 percent), HDFC Ltd (2.87 percent), HDFC Bank (2.80 percent), GAIL (2.76 percent), Asian Paint (2.74 percent), Axis Bank (2.67 percent), NTPC (2.46 percent), TCS (2.40 percent), ITC Ltd (2.24 percent) and Tata Steel (2.13 percent).

Sectorally, the BSE banking index gained the most by rising 3.17 percent followed by capital goods (2.96 percent), IT (2.25 percent), teck (2.21 percent), power (2.04 percent), oil&gas (2.01 percent), FMCG (1.88 percent), infrastructure (1.82 percent), auto (1.82 percent), PSU (1.77 percent) and metal (1.10 percent).

Broader markets too were in a bullish form with BSE mid-cap rising 0.97 percent and the small-cap up 0.94 percent.

Meanwhile, the government today approved the first-ever policy for the country's capital goods sector envisaging creation of over 21 million new jobs by 2025.

In Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei surged 1.57 percent while Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 2.77 percent. However, Shanghai composite index slipped 0.23 percent.

European markets were trading in the positive terrain with the London FTSE rising 0.68 percent, while Paris up 1.15 percent.