Mumbai: The Indian stock markets key indices rallied for the second consecutive day on Thursday with the benchmark Sensex surging 427 points led by strong buying support in metal, consumer durables, and banking & financial stocks amid positive global cues.
The 30 stock S&P BSE Sensex surged 427.49 points or 0.80 per cent to 54,178.46 points against its previous day's close at 53,750.97 points. Earlier, the Sensex opened sharply higher at 54,146.68 points and surged to a high of 54,254.79 points in the intra-day. The index touched a low of 53,927.26 points in the intra-day.
This is the second consecutive day of strong rally in the Indian equities markets. The Sensex had gained 616.62 points or 1.16 per cent on Wednesday.
The broader Nifty 50 of the National Stock Exchange closed 143.10 points or 0.89 per cent higher at 16,132.90 points against its previous day's close at 15,989.80 points.
The Nifty opened sharply higher at 16,113.75 points and rose to a high of 16,139.50 points in the morning trade.
Titan Company surged 5.69 per cent to Rs 2128 after announcing strong quarterly sales numbers. Tata Steel soared 4.88 per cent to Rs 900.30. L&T surged 3.52 per cent to Rs 1611.30. Mahindra & Mahindra soared 2.57 per cent to Rs 1133.35.
There was strong buying support in banking and financial stocks. IndusInd Bank surged 2.93 per cent to Rs 861.10. ICICI Bank soared 2.19 per cent to Rs 741.95. Kotak Bank rose 1.99 per cent to Rs 1739.15. HDFC Bank rose 1.79 per cent to Rs 1396.05.
The country's largest lender State Bank of India soared 1.48 per cent to Rs 486.75.
Nine of the 30 scrips that are part of the benchmark Sensex closed in the red. Dr Reddy's Laboratories slumped 1.26 per cent to Rs 4338.35. Nestle India fell 1.14 per cent to Rs 18187. Bharti Airtel slumped 1.05 per cent to Rs 686.65.
The index heavyweight Reliance Industries Limited fell 1.01 per cent to Rs 2387.65. Bajaj Finance, Hindustan Unilever, Bajaj Finserv, Maruti Suzuki and UltraTech Cement were other Sensex losers.