Benchmarks build on gains amid F&O expiry; Reliance Industries leads charge

The Sensex surged past 51,000 points while the Nifty reclaimed the 15,000-mark on Thursday as indices darted up for the third straight session amid expiry of monthly derivative contracts and bullish global equities.

A whopping increase in FPI inflows also boosted risk appetite, traders said. Foreign institutional investors purchased shares worth a net Rs 28,739.17 crore on Wednes­day, according to exchange data.

Global markets followed Wall Street higher after US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said policy rates could remain low for years, calming inflation concerns.

The 30-share BSE Sensex spu­rted 257.62 points or 0.51 per cent to finish at 51,039.31. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty climbed 115.35 points or 0.77 per cent to 15,097.35.

ONGC was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rallying 4.66 per cent, followed by NTPC, Reliance Industries, IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank and PowerGrid. Index heavyweight RIL advan­ced 3.84 per cent, accounting for the lion's share of the benchmark's gains.

Axis Bank jumped 2.94 per cent after regulator Irdai approved the lender's stake buy in Max Life Insurance. On the other hand, ICICI Bank, Nestle India, L&T, Kotak Bank, Titan and HDFC were among the major laggards, slipping up to 2.10 per cent.

On the domestic macroeconomic front, Moody's raised its growth projections for India, saying the economy is expected to clock a growth of 13.7 per cent in FY'22 on the back of normalisation of activity and rollout of COVID-19 vaccines.

"Domestic market added strength on yesterday's rally supported by positive F&O monthly roll-over and robust global market. Small and mid-cap stocks continued its outperformance over the benchmark indices.