MUMBAI: The BSE Sensex surged nearly 700 points to recapture the 59,000-level on Wednesday as the post-Budget rally continued for the second session with intense buying in banking and financial stocks amid supportive global cues.
The Union Budget 2022-23, with higher allocation to infrastructure, is likely to provide a boost to the ongoing economic recovery through a sharp increase in capex spending, which has been welcomed by the market, traders said.
The 30-share BSE benchmark climbed 695.76 points or 1.18 per cent to finish at 59,558.33 -- its third straight session of gains.
Likewise, the broader NSE Nifty jumped 203.15 points or 1.16 per cent to end at 17,780.00.
IndusInd Bank was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, spurting 5.57 per cent, followed by Bajaj Finserv, HCL Tech, Bajaj Finance, Kotak Bank and Axis Bank.
HDFC rose 1.87 per cent after the country's largest mortgage lender reported a nearly 13 per cent increase in its consolidated net profit at Rs 5,837 crore for the December quarter.
On the other hand, Tech Mahindra, Nestle India, UltraTech Cement, Maruti, L&T and Sun Pharma were among the laggards, dropping as much as 1.61 per cent.
Of the Sensex constituents, 21 shares closed higher while 9 were in the red.
"The domestic market continued its bull ride tracking budget cues and positive sentiments from global markets. Most sectors remained green while banking and finance stocks contributed most to the gain."
"Global markets added to its gains as strong earnings numbers helped investors to digest geopolitical worries. Besides corporate numbers, investors are also awaiting the outcome of OPEC+meeting and Eurozone inflation numbers for January," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.
Ajit Mishra, VP - Research, Religare Broking, said markets are currently riding high on the back of optimism post the Union Budget.
Besides, global recovery and favourable earnings are adding to the positivity.
"Amid all, one shouldn't forget that the Nifty index is still in a trading range and 18,000-18,300 would continue to act as a hurdle. We feel participants should focus on identifying the sectors/themes which are trading in sync with the index. Among the sectors, banking and financials have the potential to outshine others," he noted.
All BSE sectoral indices clocked gains, led by bankex, finance, consumer durables, healthcare, realty, IT and teck, which rose as much as 2.08 per cent.
In the broader markets, the BSE midcap and smallcap gauges jumped up to 1.54 per cent.
Global markets were buoyant on the back of robust corporate earnings, despite concerns over Russia-Ukraine tensions and elevated inflation.
Elsewhere in Asia, Japan's Nikkei closed with healthy gains.
Several Asian markets, including China, Hong Kong and South Korea, were shut for the Lunar New Year holidays.
Stock exchanges in Europe were trading in the green in mid-session deals.
Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude rose 0.27 per cent to USD 89.40 per barrel.
The rupee pared its initial gains to settle on a flat note at 74.83 against US dollar.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital markets, pulling out Rs 21.79 crore on Tuesday, as per provisional data.