Indian benchmark indices continued to rise for the fifth session in a row on Thursday with financial services and IT stocks spearheading the gains. The Nifty50 settled at 16,605.3, up 84.4 points or 0.5 percent for the day, and the Sensex added 284.42 points or 0.5 percent to end at 55,682.

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NSE

Barring the Nifty Pharma, all of NSE's sectoral indices finished in the green. The PSU banking index was the top gainer.

IndusInd Bank was the best performer in the Nifty50 basket, rising eight percent for the day, after the lender reported a 64 percent on-year jump in net profit for the quarter ended June.

Bajaj Finance shares were the second biggest gainer among blue-chip stocks, rising 3.3 percent.

On the other hand, Dr Reddy's Laboratories closed two percent lower, and was the worst hit in the 50-scrip gauge.

As many as 42 stocks in the Nifty50 basket ended in the green and eight in the red.

Meanwhile, the rupee finished at 79.95 against the US dollar, as against its previous close of 79.99.

Global markets

European markets witnessed selling pressure, mirroring the broader trend in Asia, as a deepening political crisis in Italy and an imminent European Central Bank policy decision weighed on investor sentiment. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index fell as much as 0.6 percent in early hours.

S&P 500 futures were flat, indicating a muted start ahead on Wall Street.

Catch up on all highlights of the July 21 session here