Financials lift Sensex 508 pts up

Only seven of the index constituents ended the day in the red with HCL Tech (down 2.7 percent) being at the forefront. Following a miss on the Q4 result, most brokerages slashed their earnings expectations from HCL Tech, resulting in a dip in the stock. However, they remain bullish on the counter

On the upside, Axis Bank (up 4 per cent), ICICI Bank, Ultratech Cement, State Bank of India, and HUL ended the session as the top gainers.

On the NSE, the broader Nifty50 index settled below the 14,500-mark at 14,485 levels, up 143.6 points. Earlier today, the index had hit a high of 14,557 levels.

The broader markets, that were earlier performing in-line with benchmarks, evenutally underperformed at the bourses. The S&P BSE MidCap index closed 0.6 per cent higher while the BSE SmallCap index was up 0.8 per cent.

Sectorally, investors booked profit in the pharma counters after a healthy rally over the past week. The index settled 0.87 per cent down and was dragged down by losses in Cipla, Aurobindo Pharma, Lupin, Torrent Pharma, and Biocon, down between 0.5 per cent and 3 per cent.

The Nifty Realty index gained 3.4 per cent on the NSE, followed by gains in The Nifty Metal index (up 2 per cent), Nifty Bank (up 1.7 per cent), and Nifty Financial Services (up 1.3 per cent).