New Delhi, March 17 (H.S.): After a tumultuous week, the domestic stock market rebounded today, with the BSE's Sensex crossing the 74,000 mark after five consecutive days of decline. The day began under pressure, but buying support helped the market reach its peak within the first hour. Despite fluctuations throughout the day, buyers gained control after 1 PM, leading to strength in both Sensex and Nifty indices. By the end of trading, the Sensex rose by 0.46 percent, while the Nifty increased by 0.50 percent. Notable buying was observed in the automobile, pharmaceutical, and metal sectors, along with strength in banking, IT, capital goods, and healthcare indices. However, the real estate and FMCG sectors faced downward pressure.

The broader market showed mixed activity, with the BSE mid-cap index climbing by 0.77 percent and the small-cap index slipping by 0.02 percent. Investors' wealth surged by over ₹1.5 lakh crore, raising the BSE market capitalization to ₹392.83 lakh crore from ₹391.18 lakh crore last Thursday. Active trading was noted in 4,239 shares on the BSE, with 1,609 closing higher and 2,502 declining. Similarly, on the NSE, 1,024 out of 2,663 shares ended in the green.

The Sensex opened at 73,830.03 points, quickly escalating to 74,376.35 before profit booking caused a dip to 73,796.06 points. It later recovered to close at 74,169.95 points. Meanwhile, the Nifty opened at 22,353.15 points, peaked at 22,577, and ended at 22,508.75 points. Top gainers included Dr. Reddy's Laboratories and Bajaj Finserv, while Wipro and BPCL were among the top losers.

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar