Sensex surges 600 pts to scale 61k-mark

Mumbai, Feb 14 (PTI) The BSE benchmark Sensex surged 600 points on Tuesday, propelled by market heavyweight RIL, ITC, banking and IT shares amid positive global cues.

Sliding crude oil prices in the international markets and buying by foreign investors also bolstered sentiment, traders said.

The 30-share BSE Sensex ended 600.42 points or 0.99 per cent higher at 61,032.26. During the session, the index witnessed a high of 61,102.74 and a low of 60,550.25.

The broader NSE Nifty surged 158.95 points or 0.89 per cent to finish at 17,929.85.

ITC topped the Sensex gainers’ chart with a jump of 3.31 per cent, followed by Reliance Industries, Bajaj Finance, ICICI Bank, Infosys, Axis Bank and Wipro.

On the other hand, NTPC, UltraTech Cement, L&T, Sun Pharma, Asian Paints and Maruti were among the major laggards.

Elsewhere in Asia, markets in Shanghai, Tokyo and Seoul posted gains, while Hong Kong settled lower.

Bourses in Europe were trading in the positive zone in the afternoon session.

The US markets had ended significantly higher in the overnight session.

The rupee dipped 7 paise to close at 82.77 (provisional) against the US dollar.

International oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.67 per cent lower at USD 86.03 per barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) remained net buyers in the capital market on Monday as they purchased shares worth Rs 1,322.39 crore, according to exchange data.