Mumbai, Mar 6 (PTI) Benchmark Sensex rallied nearly 610 points to reclaim the 74,000 mark while Nifty closed above 22,500 on Thursday following heavy buying in Reliance on easing crude oil prices and firm global trends after US President Donald Trump softened stand on tariffs.

Recovering from early losses, the 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 609.86 points or 0.83 per cent to settle at 74,340.09, marking its second straight day of gains. During the day, it surged 660.57 points or 0.89 per cent to hit a high of 74,390.80.

The broader Nifty of NSE advanced 207.40 points or 0.93 per cent to close at 22,544.70. In the session, the 50-share barometer jumped 219.15 points or 0.98 per cent to hit an intraday high of 22,556.45.

From the Sensex pack, Asian Paints, NTPC, Reliance Industries, Tata Steel, Bajaj Finserv, Hindustan Unilever, Sun Pharmaceuticals, Adani Ports & SEZ, Axis Bank, Tata Consultancy Services, Titan and Bajaj Finance were the major gainers.

Tech Mahindra, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Zomato, Tata Motors, and IndusInd Bank were the laggards.

"The Indian indices exhibited resilience, owing to positive global cues following Trump’s softened tariff stance on automakers from Canada & Mexico amidst the weakening dollar index," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services said.

A correction in crude oil prices, influenced by a slowdown in demand and further economic stimulus from China, ignited optimism in the energy and metals sectors, Nair added.

Broader markets also closed higher with the BSE smallcap gauge climbing 1.63 per cent and midcap index advancing 0.65 per cent.

Among the BSE sectoral indices, Energy, metal, Oil & Gas, Commodities, Utilities, Services, Power, healthcare, FMCG and Industrials were the gainers.

Telecommunication and Realty were the laggards.

As many as 3,007 stocks advanced while 989 declined and 107 remained unchanged on the BSE.

The market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms climbed by Rs 4,53,808.84 crore to Rs 3,97,57,850.59 crore (USD 4.57 trillion).

"The benchmark indices continued their positive momentum. Among sectors, the Oil & Gas and Metal indices rallied over 2 per cent, whereas intraday profit booking was observed in IT and Realty stocks," Shrikant Chouhan, Head Equity Research at Kotak Securities, said.

"Markets extended their rebound, gaining nearly a percent on the weekly expiry day, driven by strong cues. After a gap-up opening, Nifty dipped in the early session but witnessed a notable recovery in heavyweight stocks across sectors, pushing the index higher and closing near the day's high at 22,528.15 level," Ajit Mishra – SVP, Research at Religare Broking Ltd, said.

Mishra further said the recent cool-off in crude oil and the dollar, along with the potential negotiations on US tariffs, has improved global sentiment and fuelled this rebound.

In Asian markets, Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Seoul ended higher.

European markets in the mid-session deals were trading on a mixed note. Wall Street ended in the positive zone on Wednesday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude rose by 0.52 per cent to USD 69.66 a barrel.

Meanwhile, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 2,895.04 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.

On Wednesday, the BSE Sensex surged by 740.30 points to close at 73,730.23. Cutting short its record 10-day falling streak, the broader Nifty of NSE rebounded by 254.65 points to settle at 22,337.30. PTI HG HG MR MR