Closing Bell

The markets snapped its 3-day losing streak with strong gains led in IT shares and select index heavyweights. The BSE benchmark index, the Sensex, opened 330-odd points higher at 60,248, and after consolidating in the morning session, the index began its upward journey. The BSE index scaled a high of 60,751, and finally ended with a solid gain of 767 points at 60,687.

The NSE Nifty surged to a high of 18,123, and eventually settled with a gain of 229 points at 18,103. For the week, the 50-share index was up a per cent (186 points).

Tech Mahindra was the major gainer among the Sensex 30 stocks, up 4 per cent at Rs 1,583. Index heavyweights, HDFC, Infosys, Bharti Airtel and Reliance Industries gained 2 to 3 per cent, each. Bajaj Finsev, Asian Paints, Bajaj Finance, Sun Pharma , Larsen & Toubro and Nestle India were the other major gainers.

On the other hand, Bajaj Auto skid 3 per cent to Rs 3,640. T