Sensex rallies over 650 pts, Nifty above 17,400

Mumbai:  Equity benchmark Sensex surged 657 points on Wednesday to reclaim the 58,000-mark following robust buying in auto, metal and banking stocks.

Strong global cues also supported the domestic indices, traders said.

The 30-share BSE Sensex closed 657.39 points or 1.14 per cent higher at 58,465.97. Likewise, the NSE Nifty jumped 197.05 points or 1.14 per cent to end at 17,463.80.

Maruti was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising over 4 per cent, followed by IndusInd Bank, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finserv, Titan, Wipro, and Bharti Airtel.

On the other hand, Sun Pharma, ITC and PowerGrid were the laggards.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Hong Kong, Tokyo, Seoul and Shanghai ended in the positive territory.

Stock exchanges in Europe were trading with significant gains in mid-session deals.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude slipped 0.27 per cent to USD 90.73 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital market, as they offloaded shares worth Rs 1,967.89 crore on Tuesday, according to stock exchange data.