Sensex Surges Over 350 Points, Nifty Reclaims 17,300 Led By Reliance, ICICI Bank

The Indian equity benchmarks staged a gap up opening on the last day of calendar year of 2021 powered by gains in index heavyweights like Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, HDFC and Kotak Mahindra Bank amid mixed trend in global markets. The Sensex rose as much as 374 points and Nifty 50 index touched an intraday high of 17,316. Major global stock indexes closed mixed on Wednesday as uncertainty over the surge in Omicron variant infections tempered optimism that harsh new curbs on business and travel may not be needed.

After a weak session in Asian shares, European stock markets traded mixed.

The Dow Jones industrial average and S&P 500 index closed at all-time highs on strong U.S. retail sales. The Dow has risen six straight trading days, in the longest winning streak since a seven-session run from March 5-15 this year, news agency Reuters reported.

As of 9:31 am, the Sensex was up 365 points at 58,159 and Nifty 50 index advanced 105 points to 17,309.