Key indices soar as banking stocks surge

Mumbai: Benchmark Sensex rose by 213 points, while Nifty settled above the 19,400 level in a volatile trade on Wednesday following buying in banking counters and early gains in European stocks.

Rising for a third straight day, the BSE Sensex climbed 213.27 points or 0.33 per cent to settle at 65,433.30. During the day, it jumped 284.68 points or 0.43 per cent to 65,504.71. The NSE Nifty gained 47.55 points or 0.25 per cent to end at 19,444 as 29 of its components ended in the green while 22 declined. In the three days of gains, Sensex has rebounded 484.64 points, while Nifty advanced by 133.85 points.

“On the domestic front, sentiments remained positive, backed by strong demand in the banking sector, though IT and pharma limited the gains. Global markets have restrained from making significant moves as they await the outcome of the central bankers' gathering at Jackson Hole scheduled for Friday,” said Vinod Nair, head (research) at Geojit Financial Services.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 495.17 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.

Among the indices, bankex jumped 1.20 per cent, capital goods climbed 1.16 per cent, industrials (1.08 per cent), metal (1.05 per cent) and financial services (0.86 per cent).