Markets rally for 3rd day on easing geopolitical tensions; Sensex jumps over 1,000 pts

Mumbai: Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty surged over 1 per cent on Thursday, taking their winning momentum to the third day running, amid growing optimism following easing geopolitical tensions and buying in market heavyweights HDFC Bank and Reliance Industries.

The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 1,000.36 points or 1.21 per cent to settle at 83,755.87. During the day, it surged 1,056.58 points or 1.27 per cent to 83,812.09.

The 50-share NSE Nifty rallied 304.25 points or 1.21 per cent to 25,549.

From the Sensex constituents, Tata Steel, Bajaj Finance, Bharti Airtel, Adani Ports, Eternal, Bajaj Finserv, NTPC, HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries and Axis Bank were among the major gainers.

In contrast, Trent, State Bank of India, Tech Mahindra, Maruti and Mahindra & Mahindra were among the laggards.

In Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei 225 index settled higher, while South Korea's Kospi, Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended lower.

European markets were trading in the green in mid-session deals.

US markets ended on a mixed note on Wednesday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.18 per cent to USD 67.80 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 2,427.74 crore on Wednesday, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DII) bought stocks worth Rs 2,372.96 crore, according to exchange data.

On Wednesday, the Sensex jumped 700.40 points, or 0.85 per cent, to settle at 82,755.51. The Nifty climbed 200.40 points, or 0.80 per cent, to 25,244.75.