The Key benchmark rallied smartly in late deals after exhibiting lacklustre trading for the majority of the trading session thanks to buying support in a few select index heavyweights like ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel, and Infosys.
The BSE Sensex, which earlier reached a low of 61,437, rose 519 points to a high of 61,956. The BSE benchmark eventually finished at 61,873 after rising 249 points. At 18,403, the NSE Nifty finished 74 points higher.
Among the Sensex 30 stocks, PowerGrid and ICICI Bank both had gains of more than 2%. Bharti Airtel increased by 1.8%. The other notable winners included UltraTech Cement, SBI, Mahindra & Mahindra, Dr. Reddy's, Asian Paints, and Titan. ITC and Reliance, on the other hand, both finished with losses of about 5% each.
The major indices finished level. On the BSE, however, there were almost 1,830 losing shares for every 1,679 advancing equities, which resulted in a slightly negative breadth.
The BSE Oil & Gas index rose 1% increase sectorally. The other notable gainer was the Bankex. The Metal index, however, fell by 0.6%. Individual stock Fusion MicroFinance, a newcomer, finished at Rs 325, a price that was less than 12% of its issue price of Rs 368.
In intraday trading, oil explorer ONGC reached a 4-month high following the release of its Q2 earnings and the declaration of a 135 percent interim dividend. At Rs 142.50, the stock ultimately closed with a gain of 2.4%.
After reporting a double-digit increase in revenue and profits before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (Ebitda) in the September quarter (Q2FY23) in a difficult business climate, Apollo Tyres gained over 4% and reached a multi-year high of Rs 303.40.
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Nifty hits a 13-month high, Sensex peak at 61,795-mark
