Sensex rises 329 pts to close at 82,500.82; Nifty ends at 25,885

Rising for the second consecutive day benchmark Sensex rose by nearly 329 points on Friday following strong gains in pharmaceutical and banking shares and foreign fund inflowsThe 30share BSE Sensex jumped 32872 points or 040 per cent to close at 8250082 with 22 of its constituents closing higher and eight with losses In day trade the index jumped by 48201 points or 058 per cent to hit an intraday high of 8265411The 50share NSE Nifty advanced by 10355 points or 041 per cent to settle at 2528535 In the intraday session it rose 14895 points or 059 per cent to hit a high of 2533075Easing geopolitical tensions as Israel and Hamas agreed on the first stage of a ceasefire plan and signs of progress in a potential IndiaUS deal also boosted investor sentimentAmong the Sensex firms State Bank of India was the biggest gainer rising by 216 per cent In an unusual move the government has opened top management positions in public sector banks including SBI for the private sector candidatesOut of four positions of Managing Director in SBI one position has been opened for private sector candidates and persons working in public sector financial institutionsMaruti Suzuki India Axis Bank NTPC BEL Adani Ports Eternal Sun Pharmaceuticals Power Grid ITC UltraTech Cement Trent HCL Technologies Mahindra amp Mahindra and HDFC Bank were among the gainersOn the other hand Tata Steel Tech Mahindra Titan Bajaj Finserv Tata Motors Bharti Airtel and Bajaj Finance were among the laggardsTata Consultancy Services dropped 110 per cent after its September quarter results TCS also announced the launch of an Artificial Intelligence AI Experience Zone and Design Studio in LondonIndian equities closed higher led by strong gains in banking and pharmaceutical stocks Investor sentiment improved after the government invited private sector professionals to lead the State Bank of India Vinod Nair Head of Research Geojit Investments saidPharma stocks rallied as the US revived the Biosecure Act aiming to cut biotech ties with flagged foreign firms especially from China providing a strong boost to Indian CDMOs Nair addedRealty pharma and banking shares led the advance while metal and IT shares closed lowerAmong sectoral indices realty jumped 172 per cent telecommunication by 113 per cent healthcare by 099 per cent Utilities by 098 per cent Bankex by 097 per cent Consumer Durables by 071 per cent Power by 070 per cent and Services by 066 per centOn the other hand Metal Commodities Oil and Gas and Focussed IT were the laggardsAs many as 2474 stocks advanced while 1706 declined and 163 remained unchanged on the BSENifty50 edged higher by 104 points to close at 25285 amid improving global sentiment supported by easing geopolitical tensions as Israel and Hamas agreed on the first stage of a ceasefire plan along with signs of progress in a potential IndiaUS trade deal Siddhartha Khemka Head of Research Wealth Management Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd saidRenewed foreign portfolio investor FPI buying over the past three sessions cumulating to Rs 2830cr also boosted sentiment Additionally India and the UK announced multiple collaborations across sectors including education critical minerals climate change and defence Khemka addedThe up move was supported by a blend of domestic and global factors Investor sentiment received a boost from TCSs AI infrastructure expansion and the continued strength in banking majors Ajit Mishra SVP Research Religare Broking Ltd saidMeanwhile equity mutual fund inflows stood at Rs 30421 crore in September extending the moderation trend for the second consecutive month as investors turned cautious amid market volatility and global uncertaintiesIn Asian markets Hong Kongs Hang Seng index Tokyos Nikkei 225 index and Shanghais SSE Composite index ended lower while Seouls Kospi closed in the green territory Equity markets in Europe were trading on a mixed noteThe US markets retreated from their record highs and closed lower on ThursdayForeign Institutional Investors FIIs bought equities worth Rs 130816 crore on Thursday according to exchange dataGlobal oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 063 per cent to USD 6481 a barrelOn Thursday the 30share BSE Sensex climbed 39844 points to settle at 8217210 The 50share NSE Nifty jumped by 13565 points to close at 2518180This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever