Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], October 16 (ANI): Domestic equity benchmark indices on Thursday witnessed a sharp rally buoyed by positive global cues and renewed optimism surrounding India-US trade discussions.

At the end of the trading session today, Nifty50 at the National Stock Exchange (NSE) was up 261.75 points at 25,585.30, while BSE Sensex stood at 83,467.66, up 862.23 points.

Both Sensex and Nifty rose over one per cent each during the trading session.

The rally was largely driven by heavyweight large-cap stocks, with Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICICI Bank, and Reliance Industries contributing significantly to the upmove.

On the sectoral front, the market breadth was broadly positive, with all sectoral indices closing in the green except Nifty PSU Bank. Nifty FMCG, Nifty Realty, and Nifty Private Bank emerged as the top gainers, showcasing sectoral leadership in the rally.

On the other hand, the BSE midcap index rose 0.3 per cent and the smallcap index added 0.6 per cent.

'However, the broader market has underperformed frontline indices. Both Nifty Midcap and Nifty Smallcap 100 indices lagged behind the frontline index, although they managed to close in positive territory. This suggests that the rally was led by selective participation, primarily in large-cap names,' said Sudeep Shah, Head - Technical and Derivatives Research at SBI Securities.

He further added that Nifty is trading above all its crucial moving averages, which are in a rising trajectory. Momentum indicators, including the 14-period RSI, are also trending higher and remain in bullish territory, suggesting that the underlying strength is intact.

Praveen Dwarakanath, Vice President of Hedged.in said, 'Nifty gapped up and continued its momentum towards its immediate resistance at the 25650 level. The momentum indicators on the weekly chart indicate strong momentum and suggest that prices can continue to rise much higher. Nifty is likely to move towards its all-time high of 26,250 before this month's expiry.

On Thursday, the banking benchmark index Bank Nifty opened with an upside gap and extended its gains throughout the session, continuing its northward trajectory. The index is now trading within close proximity to its all-time high, reflecting strong bullish sentiment across the banking space. (ANI)