Stock Market Highlights: Sensex Ends 443 Points Higher Ahead Of MPC Decision; Nifty Settles Above 24,700

The benchmark equity indices closed higher for second straight session on Thursday, after ending a three-day losing streak on Wednesday.

The NSE Nifty 50 ended 130 points, or 0.53% higher at 24,750, while the BSE Sensex closed 443.79 points, or 0.55% up at 81,442. During the day, the Nifty rose 1.41% to trade at 24,899.85 and the Sensex advanced 1.13% to 81,911.13.

"Nifty opened on a flat note at 24,691 and slipped to an intraday low of 24,613 in early trade. However, it soon witnessed a strong recovery, climbing to a high of 24,899 before paring gains in the latter half of the session. Overall, the index traded in a volatile range as participants remained cautious ahead of the RBI’s monetary policy decision scheduled for tomorrow," said Sundar Kewat, technical and derivatives analyst, Ashika Institutional Equity.

Shares of Eternal Ltd., Jio Trent Ltd. and Dr. Reddy Laboratories Ltd. were the top gainers.

While those of IndusInd Bank Ltd., Axis Bank Ltd. and Tata Consumer Ltd. were among the biggest laggards.

In terms of points contribution, ICICI Bank Ltd. and Reliance Industries Ltd. were among stocks that led the gains in the index.

Axis Bank Ltd. and Bajaj Finance Ltd. dragged the index the most.

On the NSE, 12 out of 15 sectors ended in the green, with the Nifty Defence, Realty and Pharma among top performers.

In the broader market, the BSE MidCap underperformed while SmallCap outperformed the Sensex as the MidCap ended 0.39% higher and SmallCap gained 0.66%.

The market breadth was skewed in favour of buyers, as 2,241 stocks advanced, 1,731 declined and 144 remained unchanged on the BSE.