Sensex jumps over 425 points; Nifty nears 16,500

Snapping its four-day losing run, equity benchmark Sensex jumped 427 points to settle at 55,320 on Thursday, tracking heavy buying in index majors Reliance Industries, Bharti Airtel and Tech Mahindra despite a weak trend overseas.

The 30-share BSE benchmark surged 427.79 points or 0.78% to close at 55,320.28. During the day, the benchmark hit a high of 55,366.84 and a low of 54,507.41.

The broader NSE Nifty advanced 121.85 points or 0.74% to finish at 16,478.10.

Dr Reddy’s was the biggest gainer in the Sensex pack, spurting 3%, followed by Reliance Industries, Bharti Airtel, Tech Mahindra, Sun Pharma and Kotak Mahindra Bank.

On the other hand, Tata Steel, NTPC, SBI and Bajaj Finance were among the main losers, shedding up to 3.81%.

Elsewhere in Asia, markets in Shanghai, Seoul and Hong Kong ended lower, while Tokyo settled higher.

European markets were trading significant lower during afternoon trade.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude slipped 0.13% to $123.42 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors remained net sellers as they offloaded shares worth ₹2,484.25 crore on Wednesday, according to stock exchange data.