Mid- and small-cap shares finished on a strong note.New Delhi: The Indian equity benchmarks surged for the third straight session on Thursday led by gains in bank, consumer durables and metal stocks.
The 30-share BSE Sensex zoomed 817 points or 1.50 per cent to settle at 55,464, while the broader NSE Nifty moved 250 points or 1.53 per cent higher to close at 16,595.Mid- and small-cap shares finished on a strong note as Nifty Midcap 100 index jumped 0.91 per cent and small-cap shares moved 1.40 per cent higher.14 out of the 15 sector gauges -- compiled by the National Stock Exchange -- settled in green.
Nifty FMCG, NIfty PSU Bank and Nifty Metal outperformed the index by rising as much as 3.03 per cent, 2.33 per cent and 2.28 per cent, respectively.
Nifty Media also jumped as much as 4.05 per cent.
However, Nifty Metal slipped 0.34 per cent.On the stock-specific front, Hindustan Unilever was the top Nifty gainer as the stock surged 5.16 per cent to Rs 2,101.05.
Tata Steel, Grasim Industries, SBI and JSW Steel were also among the gainers.The overall market breadth stood positive as 2,436 shares advanced while 926 declined on BSE.On the 30-share BSE index, HUL, Tata Steel, SBI, IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finserv, Nestle India and Maruti were among the top gainers.In contrast, TCS, Dr Reddy's and Tech Mahindra settled in the red.Asian markets also traded higher as crude oil prices fell as diplomatic talks between Russia and Ukraine buoyed sentiment.
On the domestic front, investors also turned their focus on election results in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur.