Sensex soars 700 pts, Nifty nears 10,100; banking stocks rally

The BSE Sensex rallied 700 points on Thursday following gains in index-heavyweights HDFC twins, Reliance Industries, Kotak Bank and ICICI Bank despite weak cues from global markets. After starting on a tepid note, the 30-share benchmark gained momentum in late-afternoon trade to close at 34,208.05, up 700.13 points, or 2.09 per cent. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty jumped 210.50 points, or 2.13 per cent, to 10,091.65.