Sensex snaps 7-day losing run, soars 1,329 pts; Nifty tops 16650; PSBs zoom

Equities clocked a resounding comeback on the bourses as investors rushed to bargain buying at lower level on Friday. After a nearly 5-per cent fall on Thursday, benchmark indices jumped 2.4 per cent amid a broad-based buying. Volatility gauge, India VIX, cooled off 16.4 per cent to 26.7 levels.

The frontline BSE Sensex settled a range-bound trade 1,329 points higher at 55,858.5 with Tata Steel, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finance, NTPC, Tech M, Axis Bank, Kotak Bank and TCS ending as top gainers on the index. The stocks zoomed between 3.5 per cent and 6.5 per cent.

On the NSE, the 50 share index rose 410 points to end at 16,658. Britannia, Nestle India, and HUL were the only losers on the index, down 0.5 per cent, 0.2 per cent, and 0.01 per cent, respectively.

Meanwhile, in the broader markets, the MidCap and Smallcap indices on the BSe outperformed the benchmarks and closed little over 4 per cent higher each.

Sectorally, the Nifty Realty and PSB indices logged the sharpest rebound today with 5 per cent gain each on the NSE. This was followed by the Nifty Private Bank index (4 per cent), Nifty Bank index (3.5 per cent), and the Nifty Pharma, Auto, and Financial Services indices (3 per cent each).

Global markets

In Asia-Pacific, shares mostly rose on Friday, with Japan's Nikkei 225 up almost 2 per cent. Elsewhere, in South Korea, the Kospi rose 1 per cent and the S&P/ASX 200 in Australia edged up 0.1 per cent.

The Shanghai composite in mainland China added 0.54 per cent, and the Shenzhen component jumped 1.08 per cent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index declined 0.14 per cent.

Futures linked to the US' main stock indices were most down with Dow Jones Futures and Nasdaq Futures slipping 0.4 per cent and 0.25 per cent, respectively.