Sensex Surges Over 500 Points, Nifty Trades Above 16,750; IT Stocks Climb

Indian equity benchmarks on Friday surged in opening deals amid positive cues from the global markets. The domestic indices were up on the back of gains in technology stocks and index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL). Asian stocks were mostly up, in line with an overnight surge on Wall Street after private payrolls data stirred hopes that the American economy was likely cooling.

Trends on the Nifty Futures on Singapore Exchange (SGX Nifty) indicated a gap-up start for the domestic indices.

The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 539 points or 0.97 per cent to 56,357, while the broader NSE Nifty moved 148 points or 0.89 per cent up to trade at 16,776.

Mid- and small-cap shares were positive as Nifty Midcap 100 climbed 0.60 per cent and small-cap soared 0.95 per cent.

All of the 15 sector gauges -- compiled by the National Stock Exchange -- were trading in the green. Sub-index Nifty IT was outperforming the NSE platform by rising as much as 2.15 per cent.

On the stock-specific front, Wipro was the top Nifty gainer as the stock soared 2.82 per cent to Rs 487.50. Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech, Infosys and Reliance were also among the gainers.

The rally in RIL helped Nifty's Energy sub-index to trade 0.72 per cent higher in early trade.

The overall market breadth was strong as 1,990 shares were advancing while 557 were declining on BSE.

On the 30-share BSE index, Wipro, HCL Tech, RIL, TechM, Infosys, TCS, Bajaj Finserv, SBI, Bajaj Finance, PowerGrid, Dr Reddy's and IndusInd Bank were among the top gainers.

In contrast, UltraTech Cement, Bharti Airtel, NTPC, Maruti, Tata Steel and Nestle India were trading in the red.

Sensex had jumped 437 points or 0.79 per cent to close at 55,818 on Thursday, while Nifty had moved 105 points or 0.64 per cent up to settle at 16,628.