new year bash | Nifty surges 445 points to close at 24,188.65 

PTI Mumbai

Benchmark Sensex rallied 1,436 points to close at a two-week high on Thursday on buying in financial, auto and IT shares, extending gains to the second day of the New Year.

The 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex jumped 1,436.30 points or 1.83 per cent – its best single-day gain in more than a month – to settle at 79,943.71. During the day, it soared 1,525.46 points or 1.94 per cent to 80,032.87.

The NSE Nifty surged 445.75 points or 1.88 per cent to 24,188.65 as 48 of its constituents closed in green.

From 30 Sensex shares, Bajaj Finserv jumped nearly 8 per cent while Bajaj Finance soared over 6 per cent. Maruti, Titan, Mahindra, Mahindra & Mahindra, Infosys, HCL Tech, Zomato, UltraTech Cement and Kotak Mahindra Bank were the other major gainers.

Sun Pharma emerged as the only laggard.

"Increased momentum was observed in the domestic market, driven by optimism about the upcoming earnings season starting next week. The rally was broad-based, with most sectoral indices posting gains.

The auto sector led the way, showing the strongest momentum due to robust December sales that defied the usual subdued demand. Banking and IT stocks also performed well, as the economy bottomed in Q2," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services, said.

The BSE midcap gauge jumped 0.89 per cent and smallcap index climbed 0.68 per cent.

All sectoral indices ended in positive territory. Auto surged the most by 3.66 per cent, followed by BSE Focused IT (2.34 per cent), IT (2.31 per cent), consumer discretionary (2.24 per cent), teck (2.19 per cent), consumer durables (2.02 per cent) and commodities (1.41 per cent).

As many as 2,395 stocks advanced while 1,574 declined and 117 remained unchanged on the BSE.