Market Wrap: Banks, RIL lead D-Street higher for third day; Sensex gains 310 points, Nifty above 23,300

Indian benchmark indices extended their winning streak to a third consecutive session on Thursday, buoyed by gains in heavyweight financials and Reliance Industries, after underlying U.S. inflation softened in December, increasing the likelihood of additional interest rate cuts by the U.S. Federal Reserve.

The benchmark BSE Sensex gained 318.74 points or 0.42% to close at 77,042.82, while the broader Nifty 50 index closed at 23,311.80, higher by 98.60 points or 0.42%.

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Financial stocks provided the biggest boost to the benchmarks, with the Nifty Financial Services index closing 1.3% higher. Nifty Bank and Nifty PSU also posted advances of 1.3% and 2.7%, respectively.

HDFC Life Insurance climbed about 8%, the most on Nifty 50 and the financial index, after the insurer posted a 14% rise in net profit to Rs 415 crore for the October-December quarter, higher than Rs 365 crore in the same period last year. Meanwhile, Punjab & Sind Bank shares gained 6.8%, after the company posted robust December-quarter profit.

Reliance Industries, the second-largest constituent on benchmark indexes, and private lender Axis Bank both gained about 1.1%. Meanwhile, Infosys, India’s second-largest IT company, declined by 1.1%. All three companies are set to release their December-quarter results later today.