The Indian equity benchmarks rose for third session in a row on Thursday joining a global rally driven by continued dovish signals from U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, with financials and IT stocks accounting for most of the gains. The benchmarks staged a gap up opening wherein the Sensex rose as much as 604 points and Nifty 50 index touched an intraday high of 15,176.50. However, the benchmarks came off intraday highs due to monthly expiry of February futures and option contracts.
The Sensex ended 258 points higher at 51,039 and Nifty 50 index advanced 115 points to end at 15,097.
Reliance Industries, Axis Bank, Tata Consultancy Services, NTPC, IndusInd Bank and ONGC were among the top movers in the Sensex.
