After a day's pause, the benchmark BSE Sensex continued its upward journey today and recaptured the 27,000-level after jumping 233.70 points led by fresh buying in tech and metal stocks, tracking higher global cues stoked by the possibility of a US rate hike delay.
Buying ahead of the earnings season, which begins next week with Infosys scheduled to report second quarter numbers on Monday, also buoyed market sentiments.
Minutes of the last Federal Reserve meeting released yesterday showed that officials were largely hesitant to hike rates for the first time in nearly a decade due to worries about global economy.
Asian and European shares got a leg up on confirmation that the US policymakers won't rush to tighten rates at a time of slackening global growth.
"US FOMC minutes did not giving a clear indication of a rate hike this year. Strong rupee, firm global markets and sharp rise in commodities worldwide were some of the key positives," said Gaurav Jain Director at Hem Securities.
On the back of strong showing in other Asian markets, the 30-share BSE Sensex opened higher at 26,974.92 and hovered in a range of 27,200.44 to 26,910.59 before concluding at 27,079.51 -- showing a gain of 233.70 points or 0.87 per cent.
Yesterday, the Sensex dipped for the time in seven days after losing 190.04 points as participants locked-in gains in blue-chip stocks.
In early trade, after recapturing the 8,200-mark, the 50-share NSE Nifty touched a high of 8,232.20, but on profit- taking at higher levels, it slipped to close at 8,189.70, still up by 60.35 points or 0.74 per cent.
On weekly basis, both Sensex and Nifty surged 858.56 points (3.278 pc) and 238.80 points (3 pc), respectively -- indexes second straight weekly rise.
Recovery in Sensex was supported by gains in Vedanta that zoomed 11.58 per cent, while Tata Steel surged 4.26 per cent.
Shares of housing finance firms gained as much as 9.69 per cent after Reserve Bank allowed lenders to offer loans up to 90 per cent for properties that cost up to Rs 30 lakh.
Among other Asian markets, indices in China, Hong Kong, Japan and Singpaore rose between 0.46 per cent and 1.75 per cent, while South Korea and Taiwan markets were closed.
European markets were also higher as key indices in France, Germany and the UK rose in the range 0.88 per cent to 1.18 per cent.
