Gains in blue-chips push indices 1% up in Friday’s trading

MUMBAI: The stock market benchmark equity indices, Sensex and Nifty each rebounded by 1 per cent on Friday, driven by strong buying in blue-chip stocks like Reliance and Infosys, and also supported by a rally in global equity markets.

The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 819.69 points, or 1.04 per cent, to close at 79,705.91, with 28 of its constituents ending in the green and only two in the red.

The index opened higher, buoyed by gains in Asian markets, and later surged by 1,098.02 points, or 1.39 per cent, to reach an intraday high of 79,984.24.

Nifty gains 1%

The NSE Nifty gained 250.50 points, or 1.04 per cent, to settle at 24,367.50. During the day, it rose by 302.75 points, or 1.25 per cent, to touch a high of 24,419.75.

“Positive US jobless claims data eased recession fears and contributed to a favorable broader market reaction,” Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, was quoted as saying to news agency.

Most Sensex firms ended in positive territory, with Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Motors, Tech Mahindra, JSW Steel, State Bank of India (SBI), HCL Technologies, Reliance Industries, and Infosys among the top gainers.

 Kotak Mahindra Bank and Maruti were the only laggards. The markets started strong, gaining over a per cent, buoyed by positive global cues.