Sensex jumps 515 points to settle at 59,332, Nifty rises to close at 17,659

Equity benchmark Sensex rallied 515 points on Thursday to reclaim the 59,000-level, propelled by heavy buying in IT, banking and financial stocks amid sustained foreign fund inflows.

The 30-share BSE index ended 515.31 points or 0.88 per cent higher at 59,332.60. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty gained 124.25 points or 124.25 per cent to close at 17,659.

Axis Bank was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, climbing 2.75 per cent, followed by Bajaj Finance, HDFC, Tech Mahindra, Wipro, SBI, TCS and IndusInd Bank.

On the other hand, ITC, NTPC, HUL, Bharti Airtel, Maruti and Nestle India were among the laggards, sliding as much as 1.56 per cent.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Seoul ended with significant gains, while Tokyo closed in the red. Equities in Europe were trading on a negative note in mid-session deals.

The rally in the domestic markets was supported by a firm trend in global equities, especially the US gauges and a subsequent rally in Asian indices, traders said.

Wall Street rose sharply on Wednesday after US data showed that inflation eased more than expected in July, indicating that the Fed might be less aggressive in hiking interest rates.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the Indian capital market as they purchased shares worth ₹1,061.88 crore on Wednesday, as per exchange data.

Meanwhile, the international oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.92 per cent higher at USD 98.30 per barrel.