Stock markets advance for 3rd day

Rising for the third consecutive day, benchmark stock index Sensex advanced 221 points and Nifty settled above 25,400 on Thursday following a rally in Larsen & Toubro and the Economic Survey projecting the GDP growth of 6.8-7.2 per cent for the next fiscal.

Erasing its early losses, the 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 221.69 points or 0.27 per cent to settle at 82,566.37. During the morning trade, it tanked 636.74 points or 0.77 per cent to 81,707.94. The 50-share NSE Nifty edged higher by 76.15 points or 0.30 per cent to end at 25,418.90. The broader index fell 182.95 points or 0.72 per cent to a low of 25,159.80 in early trade. A rally in global markets and fresh foreign fund inflows helped key indices recover from lows, analysts said. From the 30 Sensex firms, Tata Steel jumped the most by 4.41 per cent.

Larsen & Toubro climbed 3.66 per cent after its consolidated revenue from operations in the October-December quarter rose by 10 per cent to Rs 71,450 crore from Rs 64,668 crore in the year-ago period. Axis Bank, Eternal, NTPC, Adani Ports and ICICI Bank were also among the gainers. However, Asian Paints, InterGlobe Aviation, Maruti and Bharat Electronics were among the laggards.

“Domestic markets ended higher after staging a strong rebound, supported by an upbeat economic survey that reaffirmed a robust FY27 growth outlook and a well-anchored inflation environment amidst persistent global uncertainties,” Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited, said.