New Delhi, 02 July (H.S.): India's domestic equity benchmarks ended higher for the second consecutive trading session on Thursday, supported by a strong rally in information technology stocks and easing crude oil prices in the international market. Both the Sensex and the Nifty opened in positive territory and, despite volatility during the first half of the session, sustained buying in the latter half lifted the indices to strong gains by the close. The BSE Sensex ended 0.75 per cent higher, while the NSE Nifty advanced 0.71 per cent.

Buying interest remained strong throughout the session in information technology, automobile and real estate stocks. Banking, consumer durables, FMCG, healthcare, metals, oil and gas, public sector enterprises and technology stocks also closed in positive territory. On the other hand, capital goods, power and telecom stocks witnessed selling pressure.

The broader market also remained upbeat, with the Nifty Midcap Index closing 0.48 per cent higher and the Nifty Smallcap Index gaining 1.25 per cent.

The market rally added more than Rs 3.81 lakh crore to investors' wealth during the session. The total market capitalisation of companies listed on the BSE rose to an estimated Rs 479.75 lakh crore at the close of trade, compared with Rs 475.94 lakh crore in the previous session, resulting in a gain of approximately Rs 3.81 lakh crore for investors.

A total of 4,458 stocks were actively traded on the BSE during the day. Of these, 2,536 advanced, 1,740 declined and 182 closed unchanged. On the NSE, 3,001 stocks witnessed active trading, with 1,991 ending in the green and 1,010 closing lower.

Among the 30 Sensex constituents, 23 stocks ended higher while seven closed in negative territory. On the Nifty 50, 36 stocks advanced and 14 declined.

The BSE Sensex opened 160.50 points higher at 77,083.14. Strong buying in early trade pushed the index to an intraday high of 77,449.25 before profit booking erased part of the gains. Buying resumed around noon, driving the index to its day's peak of 77,578.93, up 656.29 points, at around 3 p.m. Late-session profit booking trimmed some gains, but the Sensex still closed 579.48 points higher at 77,502.12.

Similarly, the NSE Nifty opened 56.35 points higher at 24,062.20. Strong buying during the opening half-hour lifted the index to 24,159.45 before profit-taking dragged it lower. Fresh buying interest returned around midday, helping the benchmark climb to an intraday high of 24,194.55, up 188.70 points, at around 3 p.m. Some selling during the final settlement phase pared gains, with the index eventually closing 169.85 points higher at 24,175.70.

Among the blue-chip gainers, Infosys surged 5.64 per cent, followed by Tech Mahindra (4.34 per cent), Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) (4.31 per cent), HCL Technologies (4.24 per cent) and Bajaj Finserv (3.23 per cent).

On the losing side, Max Healthcare declined 1.10 per cent, Larsen & Toubro fell 0.81 per cent, TMPV lost 0.53 per cent, Nestle India slipped 0.52 per cent and Axis Bank ended 0.45 per cent lower.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar