Sensex rebounds 490 points to close above 39k; Nifty reclaims 11,700-mark

Snapping its three-session losing streak, benchmark BSE Sensex surged 490 points Wednesday as investors piled into finance, energy and IT stocks ahead of expiry of derivatives contracts.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries, HDFC and HDFC Bank accounted for almost half of the Sensex's gains.

Markets were propelled by short covering ahead of expiry of April futures and options contracts Thursday amid positive global cues, analysts said.

After starting on a positive note, indices were boosted by a burst of buying towards the fag-end.

The BSE Sensex soared 489.80 points, or 1.27 per cent, to close at 39,054.68. The broader NSE Nifty climbed 150.20 points, or 1.30 per cent, to 11,726.15.

In the Sensex pack, HCL Tech spurted 3.40 per cent, followed by ONGC, IndusInd Bank, Yes Bank, Bharti Airtel, HDFC, RIL, Bajaj Finance, SBI, HDFC Bank and TCS.

On the other hand, Tata Motors, Hero MotoCorp, Coal India, PowerGrid, Maruti, Axis Bank and NTPC fell up to 3.33 per cent.

"Despite mixed signals from global markets, and worries domestically on growth and elections, Indian markets rallied almost 1.3 per cent. After three straight days of losses in the Nifty, the headline index delivered strong gains led by financials and tech, while autos continued to drag.

"Cement behemoth Ultratech was the biggest gainer on the Nifty with a 5.6 per cent gain after it surprised the analyst community with better than expected results especially after a weak show by ACC," said Sunil Sharma, Chief Investment Officer, Sanctum Wealth Management.

Aditya Birla Group firm UltraTech Cement Wednesday reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 1,014.19 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31.

Sectorally, BSE oil and gas, telecom and energy indices gained the most, rising up to 2.32 per cent. Banking, finance and IT indices too ended in the green.

The auto index was the only loser, dropping 0.29 per cent.

In the broader markets, the BSE midcap and smallcap indices advanced up to 0.43 per cent.

Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equity worth Rs 237.47 crore on Tuesday, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) purchased shares to the tune of Rs 198.35 crore, provisional data available with stock exchanges showed.

The rupee, however, depreciated 21 paise to 69.83 against the US dollar in early trade.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, slipped 0.08 per cent to USD 74.45 per barrel.

On the Wall Street, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq indices ended at record highs on Tuesday amid a slew of better-than-expected earnings reports.

Elsewhere in Asia, benchmark equity indices in Shanghai, Tokyo and Seoul ended in the red.

European equites started off on a mixed note.