Benchmarks snapped their two-session falling streak to finish with smart gains today, spurred by bargain hunting in recently-battered metal and bank stocks amid a rebound in global equities.
The BSE Sensex vaulted almost 261 points to close at 35,547.33, while the broader NSE Nifty climbed 61.60 points to 10,772.05
Index heavyweight Reliance Industries topped the gainers list in the Sensex pack, spurting 2.44 per cent to a record closing high of Rs 1,019.95.
Asian and European stocks bounced back, reversing some of their recent losses following escalating trade tensions between the US and China.
The 30-share Sensex stayed in the green throughout and hit the day's high of 35,571.37 on a flurry of buying. It finally ended at 35,547.33, up 260.59 points, or 0.74 per cent.
The gauge had lost 335.40 points in the previous two sessions, tracking a sell-off across global markets after the US and China reignited their trade dispute.
The broader NSE Nifty climbed 61.60 points, or 0.58 per cent, to close at 10,772.05. Intra-day, it shuttled between 10,781.80 and 10,724.05.
Meanwhile, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 653.68 crore while foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold equities to the tune of Rs 1,324.92 crore yesterday, as per provisional data.
"Despite trade tensions, the market traded in a positive note by snapping two days of downtrend on the back of positive global peers.
"Rupee gained as oil price remained low ahead of OPEC meeting on Friday. Bank Nifty outperformed due to a slide in 10-year yield after RBI's announcement of open market purchase. The continuing uncertainty on trade tariff is likely to cap gains," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.
Other prominent index gainers included IndusInd Bank 2.27 per cent, Vedanta 2.10 per cent, Yes Bank 1.66 per cent, Kotak Bank 1.58 per cent, Tata Steel 1.52 per cent, HDFC Bank 1.50 per cent and HDFC Ltd 1.25 per cent.
However, ONGC fell 1.24 per cent, Coal India 0.92 per cent, ITC Ltd 0.90 per cent, Wipro 0.59 per cent, L&T 0.54 per cent and Infosys 0.06 per cent.
Sectorally, the BSE metal index emerged as the best performer by rising 1.09 per cent, followed by bankex 1.04 per cent, realty 0.83 per cent, power 0.63 per cent, consumer durables 0.53 per cent, auto 0.45 per cent and healthcare 0.32 per cent.
FMCG, capital goods, oil and gas, PSU and IT indices ended in the red, falling up to 0.36 per cent.
The broader markets too were in better shape as investors accumulated stocks available at attractive levels. The BSE small-cap index rose 0.27 per cent, while the mid-cap index gained 0.23 per cent.
Major Asian indices closed higher as investors assessed US-China trade dynamics. Japan's Nikkei advanced 1.24 per cent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.77 per cent, while Shanghai Composite Index climbed 0.27 per cent.
In the Eurozone, key indices such as Paris CAC 40 and Frankfurt's DAX were up by 0.37 per cent and 0.52 per cent in their early deals. London's FTSE too jumped 1.27 per cent.
