Sensex rises 272 points, Nifty ends above 14,700; Bajaj Auto, HDFC, Infosys, Tech Mahindra top gainers

Indian equity indices Sensex, and Nifty ended higher for the second straight session on the weekly expiry following buying in metals, auto, and IT stocks. Sensex touched a low of 48,614.11 and a high of 49,011.31 to finally settle at 48,949.76, higher by 272.21 points or 0.56 per cent at 48,949.76. Nifty zoomed 106.95 points or 0.73 per cent and ended at 14,724.80.

Bajaj Auto, HDFC, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, and Titan were the top gainers on Sensex. On the other hand, PowerGrid, ONGC, Bajaj Finserv, IndusInd Bank, Sun Pharma, and NTPC were the major laggards.

Sectorally, the Nifty PSU Bank and Pharma indices suffered losses today down 1.17 per cent and 0.23 per cent, respectively. Nifty Metal and IT continued to shine on the upside, up 2.51 per cent and 1.83 per cent, respectively. 35 of the 50 constituents on the index ended in the green.

The broader markets also witnessed buying interest as the Nifty Midcap 100 and Smallcap 100 indices gained 0.94 percent and 0.7 percent respectively.

European stocks inched higher on Thursday, hovering near record levels, as strong earnings reports from AB Inbev and several eurozone banks added to an upbeat mood sparked by solid economic data. Japan's Nikkei jumped 1.8 per cent as it reopened after a five-day holiday. MSCI's index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gained 0.19 per cent.

On the forex market front, the rupee strengthened by 13 paise to end at 73.78 against the US currency on Thursday.

(With Inputs from Reuters)