Sensex ends above 39,000 mark, Yes Bank jumps over 15 pc

Equity benchmark indices extended morning gains on Thursday with fresh optimism in auto and banking stocks leading the rally.

The BSE S & P Sensex closed 453 points or 1.17 per cent higher at 39,052, while the Nifty 50 was up 122 points at 11,586.

All sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were in the positive zone except for Nifty IT. Nifty auto gained by 3.1 per cent while PSU bank was up by 3 per cent.

Among stocks, private lender Yes Bank emerged as a star performer of the day with gains of 15.47 per cent and closing at Rs 47.50 per share. Tata Motors wound up at Rs 142.55 apiece, up 13.2 per cent.

The other prominent gainers were Eicher Motors which closed 7.9 per cent higher and IndusInd Bank which gained by over 5 per cent. State Bank of India was up by 3.6 per cent and Axis Bank by 2.4 per cent.

Bajaj Auto, Tata Steel, Asian Paints and Bajaj Finserv closed with a gain of over 2 per cent each. However, those which lost were HCL Technologies, Vedanta, Grasim, UltraTech Cement and Bharti Infratel.

Meanwhile, Asian stocks were flat as markets awaited further clarification on progress between the United States and China trade talks.

The Hang Seng Index jumped by 0.7 per cent, Chinese markets were mixed and Japan's Nikkei was down by 0.09 per cent.

Investors also looked for clarity on whether Britain can secure a deal to avoid a disorderly exit from the European Union later this month.

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