M-cap of BSE-listed firms touches all-time high of Rs 261.73 lakh crore

"The market took the US Fed statement of starting tapering as soon as November in its stride. Encouraging news on Evergrande crisis also helped to clear some uncertainty on the global front. Indian markets have been on a roll and the rally today was symbolic of the prevailing strong sentiment locally on the back of reduction in covid cases and the strong vaccination numbers," Devang Mehta, Head of Equity Advisory at Centrum Broking, said.

On Wednesday, US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the Fed plans to announce as early as November that it will start to taper its monthly bond purchases, should the job market maintain its steady improvement.

"Amidst a strong start, bulls showed no signs of weakness to soar higher boosted by strong global cues and broad-based buying led by realty, metal and banking stocks. Global markets tempered optimism despite a slightly hawkish tilt by the Fed Reserve intimating that the US Central Bank will begin reducing its asset purchases in November and conclude the tapering process around mid-2022," Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, said.

Bajaj Finserv was the biggest gainer among the 30-share BSE benchmark frontline companies pack, gaining over 5 per cent, followed by L&T, HDFC, Axis Bank, SBI and Reliance Industries.

In contrast, Dr Reddy's, ITC, Nestle, HUL and Bharti Airtel were the laggards.

The BSE midcap and smallcap gained up to 1.28 per cent.

Disclaimer: “Reliance Industries Ltd. is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd.”