Sensex surges 304 points to reclaim 40,000-mark; Nifty settles at 11,835 – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Equity benchmark surged for the sixth straight session on Thursday with the benchmark BSE sensex rising over 300 points led by strong buying sentiment in IT and banking stocks amid positive cues from global markets and sustained foreign fund inflows.
The 30-share BSE index climbed 304 points or 0.76 per cent to close at 40,183; while the broader NSE Nifty settled 96 points or 0.82 per cent higher at 11,835.
Top gainers in the sensex pack included Tata Consultancy Services, HCL Tech, Infosys, HDFC Bank and Sun Pharma with their stocks up as much as 3 per cent.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) surged after the IT major announced a mega-Rs 16,000 crore buyback plan at Rs 3,000 per equity share.
Though the firm reported a 6.87 per cent dip in the September quarter net at Rs 7,504 crore but said the demand has recovered faster than projected and will be sustainable going forward as well.
Exchange data showed that foreign institutional investors bought equities worth Rs 1,093.81 crore on a net basis on Wednesday.
According to Arjun Mahajan, head – Institutional Business – at Reliance Securities, while there is still some amount of ambiguity about fiscal stimulus, US President Donald Trump’s remark to sign separate fiscal stimulus created positive sentiments which led US markets to move higher.
Indian market is expected to move in tandem with global markets, he said, adding that better prospects of 2Q earnings and continued hope about domestic fiscal stimulus will provide support to domestic benchmarks.
IT stocks are likely to be in focus after solid 2Q numbers reported by TCS along with announcement of the buyback offer, he added.
Meanwhile, the Indian rupee strengthened by 9 paise to close at 73.24 against the US dollar on Thursday, supported by positive domestic equities and weak American currency.
(With PTI inputs)