New Delhi, June 2 (H.S.):

Domestic equity markets ended the day with strong gains despite a weak start, supported by value buying at lower levels, a robust rally in information technology stocks, and a decline in international crude oil prices. Trading began on a negative note, but buyers stepped in soon after the opening bell, helping both the Sensex and the Nifty recover steadily.

Buying intensified across the market after noon, further accelerating the upward momentum of the benchmark indices. The Sensex surged more than 1,045 points from its intraday low, while the Nifty climbed over 325 points from its lowest level of the day. At the close of trading, the Sensex ended 0.52 percent higher and the Nifty gained 0.43 percent.

Throughout the session, strong buying interest was witnessed in information technology, real estate, and consumer durables stocks. Banking, automobile, capital goods, FMCG, and metal indices also ended in positive territory. On the other hand, oil and gas, public sector enterprises, and healthcare stocks remained under selling pressure.

The broader market also witnessed buying support, with the Nifty Midcap Index closing 0.19 percent higher. Similarly, the Smallcap Index ended the session with a gain of 0.40 percent.

The market rally added more than ₹3.25 lakh crore to investors’ wealth in a single trading session. The market capitalization of companies listed on the BSE increased to ₹463.01 lakh crore (provisional) at the close of trading, compared to ₹459.72 lakh crore in the previous session on Monday. As a result, investors gained approximately ₹3.29 lakh crore during the day.

A total of 4,377 stocks were actively traded on the BSE during the session. Of these, 2,301 stocks closed higher, while 1,904 declined and 172 remained unchanged. On the NSE, 2,973 stocks witnessed active trading, with 1,797 advancing and 1,176 declining. Among the 30 Sensex constituents, 20 stocks ended in the green while 10 closed lower. Similarly, among the 50 Nifty constituents, 31 advanced and 19 declined.

The BSE Sensex opened 322.14 points lower at 73,945.20. Persistent selling pressure in early trade dragged the index down to an intraday low of 73,815.12, a decline of 452.22 points. However, buyers soon returned to the market, helping the benchmark recover.

At the start of the second half of trading, aggressive buying emerged across sectors, propelling the Sensex 1,047.47 points above its intraday low to touch 74,862.19, reflecting a gain of 594.85 points from the previous close. Profit-booking toward the end of the session trimmed some gains, causing the index to retreat 212.35 points from its peak. Nevertheless, the Sensex closed 382.50 points higher at 74,649.84.

Similarly, the NSE Nifty opened 153.45 points lower at 23,229.15. Buyers provided support immediately after the opening, enabling the index to recover gradually. Broad-based buying after noon helped the Nifty move from negative territory into positive territory.

Supported by sustained buying, the index jumped 327.80 points from its intraday low to reach 23,556.95, reflecting a gain of 174.35 points. However, intraday settlement-related selling in the final phase of trading caused the Nifty to retreat 73.40 points from its high. The index eventually settled 100.95 points higher at 23,483.55.

Among the blue-chip stocks, the top five gainers were Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), which rose 6.51 percent, Infosys, up 5.68 percent, HCL Technologies, which gained 4.05 percent, Adani Enterprises, up 2.02 percent, and Tech Mahindra, which advanced 1.83 percent.

On the losing side, NTPC declined 2.98 percent, followed by Axis Bank, down 1.94 percent, Power Grid Corporation of India, which fell 1.40 percent, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, down 1.27 percent, and HDFC Life Insurance, which slipped 1.13 percent.

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar