Mumbai, March 6 : Indian stock markets remained strong for the second consecutive session on Thursday, with both the Sensex and Nifty closing in the green.

The 30-share Sensex touched an intra-day high of 74,390.80 before settling at 74,340.09, gaining 609.86 points or 0.83 per cent.

Similarly, the Nifty ended the session at 22,544.70, up by 207.40 points or 0.93 per cent. During the day, the index moved within a range of 22,556.45 to 22,245.85.

Market sentiment was largely positive, with 38 out of the 50 Nifty stocks closing higher.

The top gainers included Asian Paints, Coal India, BPCL, Hindalco, and Reliance Industries, which saw gains of up to 4.75 per cent.

However, some stocks ended in the negative territory, with Tech Mahindra, Bharat Electronics, Trent, Britannia, and Kotak Mahindra Bank declining by up to 2.35 per cent.

The rally extended beyond the benchmark indices, with broader markets also witnessing gains.

Small-cap stocks led the way as the Nifty Smallcap100 index jumped 1.32 per cent, while the Nifty Midcap100 index also ended in positive territory with a 0.37 per cent gain.

Among sectoral indices, most closed in the green, except for the Nifty Realty index, which was the only sector to end lower.

According to Rupak De of LKP Securities, the Nifty continues to rise, filling the recent gap on the daily chart.

'The RSI is recovering from a historical low and is currently in a bullish crossover. In the short term, the sentiment appears to favour the bulls. On the higher end, the index may move towards 23,750'23,800. The sentiment is likely to remain strong unless the Nifty falls below 22,300,' said De.

On March 5, the Indian stock market staged a strong recovery, with the Sensex and Nifty closing over 1 per cent higher after US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick signalled potential tariff relief for Mexico and Canada.

This raised hopes that other tariffs might also be reconsidered, which helped in boosting investors' sentiment.

Gold continues to face strong resistance at $2,920-$2,930 in COMEX, triggering profit booking, while in MCX, Rs 86,000 remains a key resistance level, with support at Rs 84,500-Rs 84,000, said experts.

/IANS