New Delhi, October 3(HS): Domestic equity markets closed on a positive note for the second consecutive trading session on Thursday, as a wave of late buying in the final hour erased earlier losses and lifted both benchmark indices into the green.The BSE Sensex closed 223.86 points higher at 81,207.17, up 0.28%, after recovering from an intraday low of 80,649.57. It staged a sharp rebound of over 600 points from the session’s bottom. Similarly, the NSE Nifty 50 settled 57.95 points higher at 24,894.25, a gain of 0.23%, after bouncing back from a low of 24,747.55 during the day.

Buying was strongest in metal, defence, and banking stocks, while IT, capital goods, consumer durables, FMCG, oil & gas, public sector enterprises, and technology indices also ended in positive territory. However, pharma, realty, and auto stocks witnessed selling pressure.

The broader market outperformed benchmarks, with the BSE Midcap index rising 0.78% and the BSE Smallcap index climbing 1.09%.Today’s rally added significant wealth to investors, as the total market capitalisation of companies listed on BSE rose by approximately ₹2.42 lakh crore. BSE market cap climbed to ₹457.76 lakh crore, compared to ₹455.34 lakh crore on the previous trading day.

On BSE, 4,339 stocks were actively traded—2,712 closed with gains, 1,486 ended lower, while 141 remained unchanged. On NSE, 2,812 stocks were active, of which 1,888 advanced, 924 declined.Among Sensex components, 15 shares ended higher and 15 finished lower, while within the Nifty 50, 26 closed in positive territory and 24 in the red.

Top Gainers and Losers

Top gainers: Tata Steel (+3.40%), Power Grid Corporation (+3.22%), Hindalco Industries (+1.88%), Axis Bank (+1.85%), and Kotak Mahindra Bank (+1.80%).

Top losers: Max Healthcare (-3.95%), Coal India (-1.33%), Eicher Motors (-1.15%), Tech Mahindra (-1.09%), and Maruti Suzuki (-1.00%).

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar