Mumbai, Apr 17: Indian stock markets ended sharply higher on Thursday, extending their winning run for the fourth straight session as strong buying in banking shares helped the domestic indices clocked a robust performance.

The Sensex, which is celebrating its 150th anniversary on April 17, opened slightly lower at 76,968 and dropped to the day's low of 76,666 in early trade. However, the index soon bounced back strongly and touched an intra-day high of 78,617 -- a jump of 1,951 points from the low.

By the end of the session, the Sensex closed with a strong gain of 1,509 points, or 1.96 per cent, at 78,553.

The Nifty index also witnessed a sharp rebound. After touching an intra-day low of 23,299, the Nifty surged to a high of 23,872. It eventually closed the day 414 points higher at 23,852, up 1.8 per cent.

Among the top performers on the Nifty were Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finance, Sun Pharma and Eternal.

On the other hand, stocks like Wipro, Hero MotoCorp, Tech Mahindra, and JSW Steel saw some profit booking and ended in the red.

All major sectors saw buying interest. Sectors like telecom, PSU banks, oil and gas, pharmaceuticals, auto, energy, and private banks gained between 1 to 2 per cent.

The broader market also remained firm, with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices adding around 0.5 per cent each.

According to Ruchit Jain, Vice President of Technical Research at Motilal Oswal, the rally appears to be more than just a short-term pullback, as it is supported by broad-based participation, especially from large-cap names and banking and financial stocks.

"The Bank Nifty index is now trading close to its all-time high, reflecting strong sectoral support,” Jain added.

Meanwhile, the Indian rupee also showed some strength. It closed 31 paise higher at 85.37 against the US dollar, compared to Wednesday’s close of 85.68.

“Despite global concerns, domestic sentiment remained upbeat, driven by strong buying in heavyweight stocks and hopes of economic stability,” experts noted.

--IANS

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