The Sensex and Nifty closed higher amid April derivatives expiry as indexes rallied in last 30 minutes trade with banking and IT stocks leading the gains amid a strengthening rupee.
While the Sensex rose 212 points to 34,713, the Nifty ended 47 points higher at 10,617 level. YES Bank (8.26%), HUL (2.17%) and TCS (2.09%) were the top Sensex gainers.
The YES Bank stock rose in afternoon trade after the lender reported earnings that came above market expectations.
The stock opened at 328.90 level, traded flat till Q4 earnings were announced. The stock rallied after 1:53 pm and closed 8.26% higher at 352 level. The bank reported a 29% rise in Q4 net profit to Rs 1179 crore compared to Rs 914 crore in the corresponding period last year
The BSE bankex rose 0.86% to 27970 level. Bank Nifty rose 0.79% to close above the key 25,010 level.
The BSE IT index rose 1.17% to 13,517 level after rupee closed at a 14 month low of 66.81 level.
Covering up of pending short positions by speculators on expiry of the April derivatives contracts and encouraging earnings by Yes Bank added to the momentum, brokers said.
This is the highest closing on Sensex since February 5, when it had finished at 34,757.
Abhijeet Dey, senior fund manager-Equities, BNP Paribas Mutual Fund said, "Trading on the benchmark indices today was volatile as traders rolled over positions in the F&O segment from the near month April 2018 series to May 2018 series. The March 2018 F&O contracts expire today, 26 April 2018. Markets mostly hovered in the positive zone and closed the day with modest gains. On the sectoral front, the PSU banking index witnessed sharp losses of over 1%, while the FMCG and IT indices clocked gains."
Meanwhile, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth Rs 435.98 crore, while foreign portfolio investors sold to the tune of of Rs 304.79 crore yesterday, provisional data showed.
Global markets
World share benchmarks were mixed on Thursday as investors digested the latest quarterly corporate earnings and awaited the outcome of a European Central Bank meeting.
European shares were uneven in early trading. France's CAC 40 rose 0.4 percent to 5,433.59 but Germany's DAX was flat at 12,422.73. Britain's FTSE 100 edged less than 0.1 percent lower to 7,376.87. Wall Street was poised to open lower. Dow futures dipped 0.1 percent to 24,052.00 and broader S&P 500 futures crept less than 0.1 percent lower to 2,643.60.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index climbed 0.5 percent to 22,319.61 and South Korea's Kospi jumped 1.1 percent to 2,475.64 after Samsung reported better than expected earnings. Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 1.1 percent to 30,007.68 and the Shanghai Composite in mainland China lost 1.4 percent to 3,075.03. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dipped 0.2 percent to 5,910.80. Markets in Southeast Asia were lower.