MUMBAI: Extending the rally to the fourth straight day, the Indian stock market’s benchmark Sensex surged 630 points on Wednesday, led by strong buying support in IT, banking and energy stocks on positive cues from the global equities and cut in windfall tax on fuel exports.
The 30 stock S&P BSE Sensex surged 629.91 points to 55,397.53 points against its previous day’s close at 54,767.62 points. Earlier, the Sensex started the day sharply higher at 55,486.12 points and rose to a high of 55,630.26 points in the intra-day. This is the fourth straight day of the rally in the Indian equities markets. The Sensex had gained 246.47 points on Tuesday.
The broader Nifty 50 of the National Stock Exchange surged 180.30 points to 16,520.85 points against its previous day’s close at 16,340.55 points. The index started the day sharply higher at 16,562.80 points and rose to a high of 16,588.00 points in the intra-day. The Nifty has extended the rally to the fourth straight day. It had gained 62.05 points on Tuesday.
Reliance Industries Ltd surged after the government reduced the windfall tax on diesel and aviation fuel shipments by Rs 2 per litre and scrapped completely the Rs 6 per litre levy on gasoline exports. The government has also reduced the tax on domestically produced crude by 27 per cent to Rs 17,000 per ton.
The cut in windfall tax will improve energy margins. Reliance Industries Ltd was biggest driver of the rally in the Indian equities markets. RIL surged 2.47 per cent to Rs 2501.40 and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) surged 4.00 per cent to Rs 132.55.
IT stocks too rallied. Tech Mahindra jumped 3.84 per cent to Rs 1,046.30, TCS surged 2.89 per cent to Rs 3,163.95 and HCL Technologies rose 3.08 per cent to Rs 917.50. Infosys, Wipro, State Bank of India, Titan, Hindustan Unilever, HDFC Bank and IndusInd Bank were among the major Sensex gainers.
Only eight of the 30 scrips that are part of the benchmark Sensex closed in the red. Mahindra & Mahindra slipped 1.81 per cent to Rs 1,164.70. Sun Pharma, Kotak Bank, Bharti Airtel, Power Grid Corporation and Bajaj Finserv were among the major Sensex losers. (ANI)