Mumbai :After logging its worst weekly fall in over six years, the benchmark BSE Sensex today soared by 568 points to 23,554.12 — index’s biggest single-day gain in more than a year—as recently battered banking stocks perked up along with sharp recovery in Asian markets.
The index had risen by 728.73 points on January 15, 2015 after Reserve Bank effected a surprise 25-basis point rate cut, the first of the four policy cuts last year.
Also, today’s 568-pt rise is the second-biggest single-day gain for the BJP-led NDA government since coming to power in May 2014.
Market mood changed for the better after Asian stocks rebounded from recent weakness as fears over global economic slowdown eased and crude prices rallied. China’s central bank also fixed the yuan higher as in the nation returned from a week-long holiday.
The Sensex resumed higher at 23,223.43 and firmed up to 23,622.64 before settling at 23,554.12 points—showing a rise of 568 points or 2.47 per cent.
The 50-issue NSE Nifty after reclaiming 7,100, advanced to hit the day’s high of 7,182.80 points, finally settling 182 points or 2.61 per cent higher at 7,162.95.
In a bloodbath, both the indexes had posted their worst weekly performance since July 2009 with the Sensex falling 1,631 points and Nifty down 508.15 points.
Meanwhile, industrial production declined for a second month in a row, registering negative growth of 1.3 per cent in December.
Retail inflation in January rose marginally to 5.69 per cent from 5.61 per cent in December, while reversing four months of rising trend, WPI inflation fell to (-)0.9 per cent in January.
Shares of Indian Oil Corporation ended 6.55 per cent up after its net profit in October-December came in at Rs 3,056.86 crore as against a net loss of Rs 2,636.80 year ago.
Overall 27 counters from the 30-scrip Sensex gained.
Shares of country’s biggest lender, SBI rebounded 7.94 per cent to Rs 167.25 on value-buying. Shares of state-run Bank of Baroda too zoomed over 22 per cent despite the lender recording the country’s highest-ever quarterly loss.
PTI