Sensex reclaims 60,000-point mark; rallies 418 points

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], August 17 (ANI): The Indian stock market's benchmark Sensex reclaimed the 60,000 points mark for the first time in over four months on Wednesday led by strong buying support in financial, IT and energy stocks.
The 30 stock S&P BSE Sensex surged 417.92 points or 0.70 per cent to close at 60,260.13 points against its previous day's close at 59,842.21 points.
The Sensex started the day in the positive at 59,938.05 points and soared past the psychologically important 60,000 points level in the morning session. The Sensex has crossed the 60,000 points mark level for the first time since April 5. The Sensex hit a high of 60,323.25 points in the intra-day.
The broader Nifty 50 of the National Stock Exchange surged 119 points or 0.67 per cent to 17,944.25 points against its previous day's close at 17,825.25 points. The Nifty rose to a high of 17,965.95 points in the intra-day.
Bajaj duo led the rally. Bajaj Finserv soared 5.74 per cent to Rs 16828.55. Bajaj Finance surged 3.28 per cent to Rs 7524.90.
Bharti Airtel soared 2.55 per cent to Rs 721.75. The scrip rallied after the company announced that it has paid Rs 8,312.4 crore to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) towards dues for spectrum acquired in the recently concluded 5G auctions.
Airtel has paid dues for 4 years ahead of schedule, the company said in a statement. "The company believes that this upfront payment coupled with the moratorium on spectrum dues and AGR-related payments for four years will free up future cash flows and allow Airtel to dedicate resources to single-mindedly concentrate on the 5G roll out," the statement added.
There was strong buying support in IT stocks. Tech Mahindra surged 2.45 per cent to Rs 1104.25. HCL Technologies soared 2.22 per cent to Rs 980.25. Wipro, Infosys and TCS also registered significant gains.
The index heavyweight Reliance Industries Limited rallied 0.52 per cent to close at Rs 2664.45.
Only seven of the 30 scrips that are part of the benchmark Sensex closed in the red. Mahindra & Mahindra slipped 1.07 per cent to Rs 1274.55 a day after hitting a record high.
Maruti Suzuki, UltraTech Cement, Tata Steel, Kotak Bank, Power Grid Corporation and Titan were the other Sensex losers. (ANI)