Banks, RIL give Sensex 558-point lift as bulls rule Dalal Street for second day

Domestic equity benchmarks extended gains to a second straight session on Tuesday amid buying across sectors, led by metal and state-run bank stocks. Optimism among investors on the corporate earnings front helped investors take their mind off the second wave of Covid-19 infections in the country.

The S&P BSE Sensex index ended 557.63 points or 1.15 per cent higher at 48,944.14 and its broader peer NSE Nifty 50 benchmark settled at 14,653.05, up 168.05 points or 1.16 per cent from its previous close.

While all sectors tracked by NSE finished the day on a positive note. At the forefront were Nifty Metal and Nifty PSU Bank, ending 2.71 per cent and 2.30 per cent higher, respectively.

The Nifty Bank rose 1.43 per cent.

Among the 42 gainers in the Nifty 50 universe, top performers were Hindalco, Tata Steel, L&T, Divi’s Laboratories, Bajaj Finance and SBI, ending between 2.88 per cent and 5.07 per cent higher.

On the flipside, SBI Life, Maruti Suzuki and NTPC, ending 1.64 per cent, 1.31 per cent and 0.54 per cent lower, respectively, were the top laggards.

Analysts awaited more large cap companies to report their financial results for the quarter ended March.

THIS IS A DEVELOPING STORY. MORE TO COME…