Sensex Jumps 403 Pts, Nifty Above 16,600; Bajaj Finserv Surges 8% On Sebi's Nod For AMC Plan

Indian equity markets closed higher for the second straight session, buoyed mostly by gains in banking and financial stocks which led the BSE Sensex to scale the 56,000 level in the intraday session, and drove Nifty near 16,650.

The BSE Sensex rose as much as 403.19 points to close at 55,958.98, and the headline Nifty-50 index added 128.15 points to end at 16,624.60. In the 30-share pack Sensex, 19 scrips witnessed buying interest in the afternoon trade, while 11 stocks ended in the red, mainly due to profit taking.

Shares of Bajaj Finserv stood as the top index gainer of Sensex as the stock price jumped more than eight per cent and made a fresh 52-week high of Rs 16,584.80 after the company received Sebi's approval for launching AMC. Bajaj Finance, Tata Steel, and Tech Mahindra were other index gainers, advancing more than three per cent each.

Nine out of 11 sector gauges compiled in the NSE ended in the green with almost every sector adding over a per cent in the intraday session on Tuesday. The Metal index was the top gainer, adding over three per cent led by shares of Welspun Corp, NMDC, and Nalco as they gained 5-6 per cent each.

Mid and smallcap shares also traded in-line with the upbeat sentiment as both BSE Midcap and Smallcap index gained over a per cent in the day's trade. However, the indices have went under sessions of correction in the last week due to overvaluation, said experts. Chola Invest, Info Edge, M&M Financial, and Motilal Oswal were the top Midcap gainers, adding 5-7 per cent each.

In the overall market performance, 2067 shares advanced, 969 shares declined, and 122 shares were unchanged.