India’s benchmark indices closed higher on Thursday, with Adani Ports emerging as one of the top gainers.

The Sensex ended at 77,042.82, with an increase of 318.74 points, or 0.42 percent. Nifty closed at 23,311.80, up by 98.60 points, or 0.42 percent.

Adani Ports concluded the session at ₹1,151 per share, up ₹22.85, or 2.03 percent.

The Nifty Bank index settled at 49,278.70, up by 527 points, or 1.08 percent. The Nifty Midcap 100 index closed at 54,483.80 after gaining 584.80 points, or 1.09 percent. The Nifty Smallcap 100 index ended at 17,643.30, up by 289.35 points, or 1.67 percent.

Market analysts attributed the positive trend to improved investor sentiment influenced by lower inflation data from the United States, which bolstered expectations of a potential interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve.

On the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), 2,779 shares closed in the green, 1,187 shares ended in the red, and 101 shares remained unchanged.

Top gainers in the Sensex pack included Adani Ports, SBI, IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank, Tata Motors, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Finserv, NTPC, Maruti Suzuki, UltraTech Cement, and ICICI Bank. HCL Tech, Infosys, Hindustan Unilever Limited, and ITC were among the top losers.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth ₹4,533.49 crore on January 15. In contrast, domestic institutional investors purchased equities worth ₹3,682.54 crore on the same day.

– IANS