Sensex revisits 61k, Nifty above 18k; RIL, ITC stocks spurt

Equity benchmark Sensex climbed over 460 points to reclaim the 61,000 mark while the Nifty closed above the 18k level on Friday, propelled by robust buying in index majors Reliance Industries and ITC amid fresh foreign fund inflows.

Rallying for the fifth straight session, the 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 463.06 points or 0.76 per cent to settle at 61,112.44. During the day, it rallied 560.08 points or 0.92 per cent to 61,209.46.

The broader NSE Nifty advanced 149.95 points or 0.84 per cent to finish at 18,065.

Wipro was the biggest gainer in the Sensex pack, rising 2.89 per cent, followed by Nestle, State Bank of India, Larsen & Toubro, ITC, Tech Mahindra, Reliance Industries, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Bajaj Finance.

In contrast, Axis Bank, HCL Technologies, Titan, Hindustan Unilever, Bajaj Finserv and ICICI Bank were the major laggards, skidding up to 2.39 per cent.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Japan, Shanghai and Hong Kong ended in the green.

Equity markets in Europe were trading lower. The US markets ended with significant gains on Thursday.

The BSE benchmark surged 348.80 points or 0.58 per cent to settle at 60,649.38 on Thursday. The Nifty gained 101.45 points or 0.57 per cent to end at 17,915.05.

Meanwhile, global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.45 per cent to USD 78.72 per barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were buyers on Thursday as they bought equities worth Rs 1,652.95 crore, according to exchange data.