MUMBAI: Bulls were in command of the equity markets for the third day in a row as exuberance returned to the Street amid marginal ease in bond yields and cheap valuations. The US Treasury yield was last quoting at 1.55 per cent while domestic 10-year government bond yield was at 6.2 per cent.
Amid a fall in volatility, the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex advanced 254 points, or 0.5 per cent, to end at 51,279.5 levels. On the NSE, the Nifty50 index ended at 15,175 levels, up 76 points or 0.51 per cent. The Sensex and the Nifty hit their respective intra-day highs of 51,430 and 15,218.
JSW Steel, Tata Steel, Hindalco, Bajaj Finance, Tata Motors, Sun Pharma, and Tech Mahindra, all up between 2 per cent and 3 per cent, were the top gainers on the Nifty, while Axis Bank, HCL Tech, Bajaj Auto, Infosys, and Dr Reddy's Labs were the additional top performing stocks on the Sensex.
On the downside, SBI Life, ONGC, Indian Oil Corporation, HDFC Life, UPL, GAIL, Coal India, ITC, Reliance Industries, and HDFC Bank were the top laggards on the indices, down up to 2.5 per cent. (IANS)