Sensex rises 177 pts to near one-month high; bank stocks surge

Extending its winning run to fifth day on Thursday, the benchmark BSE Sensex closed higher by 177 points at near one-month high of 28,885.21, mainly led by sharp rise in banking stocks after Moody's raised country's credit rating outlook to 'positive' from 'stable'.

Extending its winning run to fifth day on Thursday, the benchmark BSE Sensex closed higher by 177 points at near one-month high of 28,885.21, mainly led by sharp rise in banking stocks after Moody's raised country's credit rating outlook to 'positive' from 'stable'.

In volatile movements, the 30-share gauge opened on a strong footing but succumbed to profit-booking and slipped into the negative zone to touch a low of 28,622.44.

"Initially, we saw an uptick in index in response to rating upgrade from Moody but profit taking at higher levels capped the upside for most part of the session," said Jayant Manglik, President-retail distribution at Religare Securities.

However, the gauge staged a strong comeback following a flurry of buying in the later part of the session to close higher by 177.46 points or 0.62% higher at 28,885.21.

The Sensex has now garnered over 927.72 points in five sessions and is at nearly one-month high. The previous high was on March 12 when it ended at 28,930.41.

The 50-share NSE Nifty index spurted by 63.90 points, or 0.73%, to close at 8,778.30. During the session, it shuttled between 8,785.50 and 8,682.45.

Showing confidence in the Indian economy, Moody's raised country's credit rating outlook and said an upgrade in its sovereign rating is also possible in the next 12-18 months.

Furthermore, a firm trend among other Asian markets and higher opening across European markets also buoyed sentiments.