Sensex rallies 548 points; Reliance, HDFC Bank spurt nearly 4 per cent
Equity benchmark Sensex rallied 548 points on Friday, buoyed by gains in index-heavyweights Reliance Industries, HDFC twins, ICICI Bank and HUL. After trading on a positive note through the day, the 30-share BSE Sensex ended 548.46 points, or 1.50 per cent, higher at 37,020.14. Similarly, the NSE Nifty surged 161.75 points, or 1.51 per cent, to close at 10,901.70.
ONGC was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rallying 5.52 per cent, followed by Titan, Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank and Bajaj Finance.
On the other hand, TCS, Nestle India, Infosys, HCL Tech and Axis Bank were the laggards.
According to traders, stock-specific buying in key index majors drove the market during the session amid positive sentiment in most overseas markets.
Bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Seoul ended in the green, while Tokyo closed with losses.
In Europe, stock exchanges in Germany and the UK were trading with gains, while those in France witnessed losses in early deals.
Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude futures fell 0.97 per cent to USD 42.95 per barrel.
In the forex market, the rupee appreciated 16 paise to close at 75.02 against the US dollar.
