Sensex, Nifty surge nearly 2% on buying in financial, IT stocks

The 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex jumped 1,436.30 points or 1.83 per cent -- its best single-day gain in more than a month -- to settle at 79,943.71.

During the day, it soared 1,525.46 points or 1.94 per cent to 80,032.87.

The NSE Nifty surged 445.75 points or 1.88 per cent to 24,188.65.

From 30 Sensex shares, Bajaj Finserv jumped nearly 8 per cent while Bajaj Finance soared over 6 per cent. Maruti, Titan, Mahindra, Mahindra & Mahindra, Infosys, HCL Tech, Zomato, UltraTech Cement and Kotak Mahindra Bank were the other major gainers.

Sun Pharma emerged as the only laggard.

The gross GST collection rose 7.3 per cent year-on-year to Rs 1.77 lakh crore in December despite a significant increase in both domestic and export refunds.

India's manufacturing sector growth fell to a 12-month low in December, as new business orders and production expanded at softer rates, a monthly survey said on Thursday.

The seasonally adjusted HSBC India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index was at 56.4 in December, down from 56.5 in November, indicating a weaker improvement in operating conditions.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,782.71 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 1.09 per cent to $75.47 a barrel.