Sensex soars 416 pts on F&O expiry; GDP data eyed

The BSE Sensex rebounded by over 416 points today to end at a two-week high of 35,322.38 on a flurry of buying in banking, energy and IT stocks amid a firming trend overseas.

Covering-up of pending short positions on expiry of the May derivatives contracts and optimistic buying by participants ahead of GDP data added to the momentum, brokers said.

The BSE 30-share Sensex took off on a positive note at 35,083.81 and stayed in the green on widespread buying to hit a high of 35,416.03. It finally ended at 35,322.38, up 416.27 points, or 1.19 per cent.

This is its biggest single session gain since April 5, when it had surged 577.73 points.

The gauge had lost 259.37 points in the past two sessions.

The 50-issue NSE Nifty ended at 10,736.15, up 121.80 points, or 1.15 per cent, after shuttling between 10,763.80 and 10,620.40.

Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth Rs 492.46 crore, while foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold to the tune of Rs 1,286.91 crore yesterday, provisional data showed.

Meanwhile, the Met department yesterday said the entire country is likely to get normal monsoon this year, except the east and northeast India, which is likely to witness "below normal" rainfall.