Indian stock markets are closed on Friday on account of Christmas. Trading will resume on Monday. Earlier on Thursday, benchmark indices marched higher for the third session on the trot on Thursday, propelled by Reliance Industries and financial stocks, amid a positive trend in global markets on prospects of a Brexit trade deal. A sharp jump in the rupee and persistent foreign fund inflows added to the momentum.
The 30-share BSE Sensex surged 529.36 points or 1.14 percent to close at 46,973.54. The broader NSE Nifty zoomed 148.15 points or 1.09 percent to 13,749.25.
#MarketAtClose | Sensex ends at record closing high & Nifty 11 points away from record closing level. #Market gains for 3rd straight day to recover most losses seen on Monday pic.twitter.com/onu8nERY2v
— CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18Live) December 24, 2020
Axis Bank topped the Sensex gainers' chart, spurting 3.04 percent, followed by Sun Pharma, ONGC, Reliance Industries (RIL), HDFC, ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Finance and Kotak Bank.
Index heavyweights RIL, HDFC and HDFC Bank accounted for over half of the Sensex's gains.
On the other hand, Infosys, Nestle India, IndusInd Bank, Dr Reddy's, HCL Tech and Bajaj Finserv were among the main laggards, dropping up to 1.32 percent.
During the holiday-truncated week, Sensex inched up 12.85 points or 0.02 percent, while Nifty slipped 11.30 points or 0.08 percent.
#MarketThisWeek | Nifty IT records over 3% gain to post biggest weekly gain in nearly 2 months.
Wipro, Cipla, Infosys, Adani Ports & HCL Tech top Nifty gainers this week.ONGC, IndusInd Bank, Hindalco & BPCL top Nifty Losers this week pic.twitter.com/lwHVSBn7LT— CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18Live) December 24, 2020
Sector-wise, BSE energy, bankex, finance, oil and gas, metal and telecom indices rose up to 2.29 percent, while IT, realty and teck closed in the red.
Broader BSE midcap and smallcap indices advanced up to 0.59 percent.
Meanwhile, the global oil benchmark Brent crude futures slipped 0.48 percent to USD 51.04 per barrel.
The rupee appreciated by 21 paise to settle at 73.55 against the US dollar.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) purchased shares worth a net Rs 536.13 crore on Wednesday, according to provisional exchange data.
—With inputs from agencies
(Edited by : Ajay Vaishnav)