The S&P BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty 50 indexes closed higher for second straight day led by gains in Infosys, which surged to an all-time high of Rs 955.50, a day after the country's second biggest IT company reported better-than-expected earnings for the quarter ended June 30. Large deal wins and tighter costs helped the IT major beat analysts' estimate of profit and reinstate its full-year outlook. The Sensex rose as much as 473 points and Nifty 50 index touched an intraday high of 10,755.30 .
The Sensex ended 420 points to close at 36,472 and Nifty climbed 122 points to settle at 10,740.
In a regulatory filing after market hours on Wednesday, Infosys reported a 11.5 per cent jump in annual net profit to Rs 4,233 crore for the first quarter of financial year 2020-21. Infosys was the top contributor towards gain in the Sensex, it alone contributed 274 points towards the Sensex.
All the 11 sector gauges, barring the Nifty Media index, ended higher on the National Stock Exchange led by Nifty Information Technology index's nearly 3 per cent gain. Nifty Bank, Auto, Financial Services, Pharma and Private Bank indexes also rose between 1-1.2 per cent each.
Mid- and small-cap shares ended on a mixed note as Nifty Midcap 100 index rose 0.55 per cent and Nifty Smallcap 100 index declined 0.12 per cent.
Infosys was the top Nifty gainer, the stock closed 9.5 per cent higher at Rs 910. Bharat Petroleum, Cipla, Mahindra & Mahindra, Britannia Industries, IndusInd Bank, Nestle India and JSW Steel also rose between 3-7 per cent each.
On the flipside, Bharti Infratel, Tech Mahindra, ITC, Zee Entertainment, Indian Oil, Coal India, NTPC and Adani Ports were among the losers.
The overall market breadth was negative as 1,526 shares closed lower while 1,081 ended higher on the BSE.
