Mumbai, Sep 4 (PTI) Benchmark BSE Sensex rebounded by 362 points on Friday, cutting short its four-day losing streak on buying in metal, private banking and oil and gas shares amid gains in global stock markets..

The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 362.57 points, or 0.48 per cent, to settle at 76,515.43 with 20 of its constituents ending higher and 10 with losses. The barometer surged as much as 730.28 points, or 0.95 per cent, during the day to hit an intraday high of 76,883.14.

The broader NSE Nifty, however, saw a modest rise of 24.25 points, or 0.10 per cent, to end at 23,897.70. The index traded higher for most of the session and breached 24,000 level to hit a high of 24,005.75 intra-day, up by 132 points. However, it pared gains in the newly introduced Closing Auction Session, settling with modest gains.

Among the Sensex constituents, Tata Steel, Reliance Industries, Bajaj Finance, Trent, Adani Ports, HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, UltraTech Cement, Titan, Mahindra & Mahindra and Hindustan Unilever were the major gainers.

Bharti Airtel, HCL Technologies, Eternal, Asian Paints, Tata Consultancy Services, Tech Mahindra, Sun Pharmaceuticals, ICICI Bank, Bharat Electronics Ltd and Maruti Suzuki India were among the laggards.

"Indian equities witnessed a relief rally as concerns over an imminent U.S. Fed rate hike eased. However, gains remained capped due to profit booking at higher levels and persistent geopolitical tensions in the Middle East," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments Ltd.

On the domestic front, stock- and sector-specific buying remained evident across the broader market, with small-cap indices touching fresh intraday lifetime highs, he said.

"Strong earnings momentum, resilient economic growth, and robust domestic demand continue to underpin investor confidence in the broader market," Nair added.

A total of 2,482 stocks advanced, while 1,901 declined and 235 remained unchanged on the BSE.

The broader market also remained resilient, with SmallCap Select Index rising 0.48 per cent and MidCap Select Index gaining 0.02 per cent.

Among the BSE sectoral indices, Metal was the biggest winner, rising 1.42 per cent, while Housing Finance advanced 1.41 per cent. Telecommunication rose 1.39 per cent, followed by Insurance 1.37 per cent, Commodities by 0.61 per cent, Financial Services by 0.57 per cent, Private Banks Index by 0.53 per cent, Services 0.51 per cent and Utilities went up by 0.50 per cent.

On the other hand, Realty and Capital Goods emerged as the biggest loser, falling 0.66 per cent each. Auto, Healthcare, Hospitals, PSU Bank, Focussed IT and IT were among the indices that also closed lower.

On a weekly basis, the 30-share BSE Sensex declined 749.08 points, or 0.96 per cent, while the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 277.95 points, or 1.14 per cent.

"The Nifty started the session on a positive note, with buying momentum pushing the index towards the 24,000 psychological mark. However, once the index approached this crucial level, profit booking emerged at higher levels, leading to a pullback from the day’s peak.

"Despite the selling pressure, the index managed to recover and close in positive territory, indicating resilience and continued buying interest at lower levels," said Gaurav Garg, Head of Research at brokerage platform Lemonn.

Siddhartha Khemka - Head of Research, Wealth Management, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd, said crude prices and developments in the West Asian conflict remain key risks, while investors will track global rate expectations and domestic liquidity.

"The US employment data released later in the day will be important for the Federal Reserve's policy outlook. Investors will also watch the US ISM Services PMI, the European Central Bank's monetary policy decision, the OPEC monthly oil market report," he said.

In Asian markets, Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 1.74 per cent, South Korea's KOSPI advanced 1.64 per cent, and Japan's Nikkei 225 settled 1.28 per cent higher. Shanghai's SSE Composite index ended 0.30 per cent lower.

Markets in Europe were largely trading flat. US stock markets ended over 1 per cent higher on Thursday.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.40 per cent to USD 95.14 per barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors offloaded equities worth Rs 2,345.87 crore on Thursday. Domestic Institutional Investors, however, remained net buyers, purchasing equities worth Rs 4,977.46 crore, according to exchange data.

On Thursday, the 30-share BSE Sensex dropped 417.49 points to close at 76,152.86, while the 50-share NSE Nifty slipped 41 points to settle at 23,873.45, extending their losing streak to a fourth consecutive session. PTI HG MR