Sensex ends 834 points higher

Sensex continued its march towards the 50,000-mark ahead of the Union Budget session on February 1. The index gained 1.72 per cent or 834 points to close at 49,400. In the intra-day trading, Sensex had gained 936 points. The broader benchmark index Nifty gained 1.68 per cent or 238 points to close at 14,521.

Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Finance, Sun Pharma and HDFC Bank were among the top gainers that rose between 3 to 6 per cent on Tuesday.

Broader market stocks outperformed Sensex and Nifty indices. The S&P BSE MidCap index gained 2.31 per cent, and the Small-cap gained 1.66 per cent. Index heavyweight stock Reliance Industries gained 1.65 per cent to close at Rs 2016.

Fund managers are optimistic about the outlook.

"The result season has started well, giving encouraging signs. The vaccination drive is progressing well. Also, the global cues have been positive with the expectation of a large fiscal push in the USA. The overall sentiment is quite bullish. We expect that the market will now take its next major cue from the budget. The multiple expansion driven returns will ease out and returns will be linked more to growth from here on," said Mohit Ralhan, Managing Partner & CIO, TIW Private Equity.

In Europe, the stock markets in Germany, the UK and France were marginally higher. Japan's Nikkei 225 index gained 1.39 per cent. US stock futures were marginally higher.