Closing Bell: Sensex Rallies 281 Points To Settle At 37,385 Points

The BSE benchmark Sensex rallied 281 points on Friday, led by financial and IT stocks as hopes of another rate cut by RBI boosted investor sentiment.

After swinging 413 points, the 30-share index ended 280.71 points, or 0.76 per cent, higher at 37,384.99. It hit an intra-day high of 37,413.50 and low of 37,000.09. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty settled 93.10 points, or 0.85 per cent, higher at 11,075.90.

Top gainers in the Sensex pack included Vedanta, ICICI Bank, ONGC, Kotak Bank, Axis Bank, SBI, M&M, Infosys, PowerGrid, HCL Tech, NTPC, Bajaj Finance and Reliance Industries, rising up to 2.72 per cent.

On the other hand, Sun Pharma, Bharti Airtel, HDFC Bank, Yes Bank, ITC and HUL were among the losers, shedding up to 1.41 per cent.

Domestic benchmarks rose amid hopes of another rate cut by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) next month, traders said.In the previous session, the BSE barometer settled 166.54 points, or 0.45 per cent, lower at 37,104.28, while the broader NSE Nifty fell 52.90 points, or 0.48 per cent, to close at 10,982.80.

Top gainers in the Sensex pack on Friday included Infosys, TCS, Kotak Bank, Maruti, M&M, Tech Mahindra, HUL, HCL Tech, ITC and PowerGrid, rising up to 1.16 per cent.

On the other hand, Yes Bank, Bharti Airtel, SBI, L&T, HDFC Bank, Tata Steel and IndusInd Bank fell up to 4 per cent. According to traders, besides positive cues from global markets, domestic benchmarks rose amid hopes of another rate cut by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

According to official data released post market hours on Thursday, retail inflation inched up marginally to 3.21 per cent in August, while industrial production growth slowed to 4.3 per cent in July, raising chances of a rate cut by the central bank.

Positive cues from global markets too lifted benchmarks here, traders said.Bourses in Hong Kong and Japan ended significantly higher amid signs of easing trade war tensions between the US and China.

Stock exchanges in Europe were also trading on a positive note in their respective early sessions after the European Central Bank on Thursday announced a massive package of rate cuts and economic stimulus.

The Indian rupee appreciated 6 paise (intra-day) to trade at 71.07 per US dollar. Global oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.31 per cent lower at USD 60.19 per barrel.

(With inputs from PTI)