The Sensex and Nifty closed higher in trade today tracking rally in global stocks as US markets posted their best single-day gain in more than 10 years. However, the indices could not hold on to their morning gains on account of December derivatives expiry today.

While the Sensex closed 157 points higher to 35,807, Nifty ended 50 points in the green at 10,779. In early trade, the Sensex rose 392 points to 36,041 and Nifty gained 72 points to 10,801.

Also read: Sun Pharma stock rises after US court grants relief to its arm in patent infringement case

Top Sensex gainers were Reliance Industries (2.01%), Infosys (1.91%) and HUL (1.55%).

Bharti Airtel (2.10%), Hero MotoCorp (1.85%) and Tata Motors (1.38 %) were the top Sensex losers.

Also read: HUL stock rises after firm issues clarification on NAA order

Top sectoral gainers were IT stocks with the BSE IT index rising 182 points to 14,043.

The BSE FMCG index (120 pts) and BSE oil and gas (112 pts) were the other major sectoral gainers.

Bank Nifty fell 108 points to 26,878.

On the other hand, banking stocks were the top sectoral losers with the BSE bankex falling 85 points to 30,026 level. Meanwhile, the BSE mid cap and small cap indices closed 48 points higher to 15,218 and 45 points higher to 14481 level in trade today.

Market breadth was positive with 1315 stocks closing higher compared to 1243 falling on the BSE.

The Suven Life Sciences stock rose in early trade today after the biopharma firm said it has been granted product patents by Brazil and Eurasia each for a new chemical entity (NCE) used in treatment of disorders associated with neurodegenerative diseases. These patents are valid through 2023 and 2034, respectively, the company said.

The Suven Life stock gained up to 2.27% to 227.85 in morning trade against previous close of 221.85 on the BSE. The stock closed 1.94% higher at 226.15 in trade today.

The Sun Pharma stock rose in early trade today after its arm DUSA Pharmaceuticals received relief from a US court in a patent infringement case. The Sun Pharma stock rose up to 2.42% to Rs 424 level compared to its previous close of 414 level on the BSE. It closed 0.41% lower at 412 level on the BSE.

On a net basis, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 80.28 crore on Wednesday, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net sellers to the tune of Rs 137.63 crore, provisional data available with BSE showed.

On Wednesday, the Sensex closed 179.79 points, or 0.51 per cent higher at 35649.94, while the Nifty settled at 10729.85, up by 66.35 points, or by 0.62 per cent.

Global markets

Trading resumed on Thursday for European markets, which were closed for the festive season. Germany’s DAX dropped 0.3 percent to 10,601.98 while France’s CAC 40 added 0.8 percent to 4,664.54. Britain’s FTSE 100 was flat at 6,685.64. Wall Street was poised to open lower.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index rebounded 3.9 percent to 20,077.62. It tumbled more than 5 percent on Tuesday before recovering slightly a day later. South Korea’s Kospi was less than 0.1 percent higher at 2,028.44. The Shanghai Composite index lost 0.6 percent to 2,483.09. Markets in Hong Kong and Australia reopened after Christmas. The Hang Seng index was 0.7 percent lower at 25,478.88. Australia’s S&P-ASX 200 jumped 1.9 percent to 5,597.20. Stocks climbed in Taiwan and throughout Southeast Asia.

On Wednesday, US markets snapped a four-day losing streak and clocked their best day in more than 10 years. Investors were reassured by an official signal that President Donald Trump, who has heavily criticized the Fed on Twitter, will not try to oust Chairman Jerome Powell.

The broad S&P 500 index soared 5 percent to 2,467.70. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added over 1,000 points – its biggest point gain in a day – or 5 percent to 22,878.45. The Nasdaq composite picked up 5.8 percent to 6,554.36. The Russel 2000 index of smaller-company stocks rose 5 percent to 1,329.81.