Market Closing Bell: Benchmark indices ended on a positive note on Thursday, i.e. on March 20, taking their winning momentum to the fourth straight day. Today's gain comes amid heavy buying in market heavyweights Bharti Airtel, TCS and Hindustan Unilever and firm trends in the US equities after the Federal Reserve maintained its rate cut projections for this year.
Moreover, blue-chip IT stocks put on a good show today.
The 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex climbed 899.01 points or 1.19 per cent to settle at 76,348.06.
During the day, it advanced 1,007.2 points or 1.33 per cent to 76,456.25.
The NSE Nifty rose 283.05 points or 1.23 per cent to 23,190.65.
From the Sensex pack, Bharti Airtel, Titan, TCS, Hindustan Unilever, Infosys, Nestle India, Reliance Industries, Mahindra & Mahindra and HDFC Bank were among the major gainers.
On the other hand, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finance and UltraTech Cement were among the laggards.
"Consistent falls of the US dollar index (DXY) have reduced the intensity of FII selling while DII buying continues to be strong, thus triggering the recent upside. Supportive domestic data indicating a MoM rise in economic activity and the view that more rate cuts are envisaged during the year are adding to the attractiveness of equity. The sustenance of the ongoing rally is expected to stay for the broad market in the short term and then drive based on the outlook on Q4FY25 results, to be released in April," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.
In Asian markets, Seoul settled in the positive territory, while Shanghai ended lower.
US markets ended in the positive zone on Wednesday.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) continued selling on Thursday as they sold equities worth Rs 1,096.50 crore, according to exchange data. Domestic Institutional Investors (DII) bought equities worth Rs 2,140.76 crore.