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The Indian equity benchmarks closed at their highest levels since October 27, 2021 as investors turned their focus on the upcoming Union Budget. Investors are hoping of bold reform announcements from the government to help economy recover at a faster pace which has been adversely impacted by the ongoing COvid-19 pandemic, analysts said. The Sensex rose as much as 601 points and Nifty 50 index reclaimed its important psychological level of 18,200.
The Sensex ended 533 points higher at 61,150 and Nifty 50 index climbed 157 points to close at 18,212.
The benchmarks logged in fourth straight session of gains on Wednesday and have begun 2022 on a strong note with Sensex and Nifty advancing 5 per cent each.
Rally in Wednesday's session was led by heavyweights like Reliance Industries, Infosys, ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel, HDFC, Mahindra & Mahindra and Bajaj Finance.
Buying was visible across the board as twelve of 15 sector gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange ended higher led by the Nifty Realty Index's nearly 2 per cent gain. Nifty Oil & Gas, Private Bank, Metal, Media, Financial Services, Auto and Bank indices also rose between 0.7-1.45 per cent.
On the other hand, select consumer durables, healthcare and pharma shares witnessed selling pressure.
Mid- and small-cap shares also witnessed buying interest as Nifty Midcap 100 index rose 1.25 per cent and Nifty Smallcap 100 index advanced nearly 1 per cent.
Mahindra & Mahindra was top Nifty gainer, the stock rose 4.53 per cent to close at Rs 879. Bharti Airtel, IndusInd Bank, Reliance Industries, Hindalco, ONGC, HDFC Life, JSW Steel and ICICI Bank also rose between 1.56-3.65 per cent.
On the flipside, Titan, TCS, Shree Cements, Britannia Industries, Cipla, Bharat Petroleum, Tech Mahindra, HDFC Bank and Divi's Labs were among the losers.
