Sensex takes off 537 pts; Nifty recovers 11,400-mark

Mumbai, May 17 The BSE Sensex soared 537 points and the NSE Nifty recovered the 11,400 level Friday in a broad based rally driven by banking and auto stocks ahead of exit poll results, despite global headwinds.

The 30-share BSE benchmark shut 537.29 points, or 1.44 percent, higher at 37,930.77. It hit an intra-day high of 38,001.13 and a low of 37,415.36.

So also, the more extensive Nifty rose 150.05 points, or 1.33 percent, to settle at 11,407.15. Amid the day, it hit a high of 11,426.15 and a low of 11,259.85.

In the Sensex pack, Bajaj Finance and Bajaj Auto wound up to 6.09 percent higher subsequent to posting solid quarterly numbers.

Legend MotoCorp, Maruti, Kotak Bank, HDFC, HUL, M&M, HDFC Bank, ITC, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Coal India, SBI, IndusInd Bank and Asian Paints were likewise among the top gainers, ascending to 4.26 percent.

Then again, Yes Bank, Vedanta, Infosys, HCL Tech, Sun Pharma, TCS and NTPC wound up to 2.36 percent lower.

Investors lapped up banking and auto stocks, boosting key indices, in front of the exit poll results scheduled for Sunday.

Broader indices followed the benchmarks, with the BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices settling in the green.

While Japanese stocks finished higher, bourses in China and Korea finished in the red in the midst of the US-China exchange struggle. European values too opened essentially lower.

The Indian rupee deteriorated by 16 paise to 70.20 against the US dollar intra-day.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.26 percent higher at USD 72.81 per barrel.