Mumbai, May 16 (IANS): The Sensex on Thursday managed to advance by 278 points, most of which came in the last hour of trade led by IT and financials.

India VIX, the volatility indicator, rose to hit another 52-week high at a nearly 4-year high on Thursday, as investors are getting increasingly nervous ahead of the Lok Sabha election outcome.

The BSE Sensex jumped by 278.60 points or 0.75 per cent to 37,393.48 and the Nifty was up 100.10 points or 0.90 per cent at 11,257.10.

"The market reversed from the oversold level supported by few green shoots in quarter earnings and accumulation in beaten down blue chips. Global volatility continued due to economic growth concerns which led to shift in focus to bond and gold," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.

"The rally was broad based except pharma, which was impacted due to tepid results and USFDA observations," Nair added.

InterGlobe Aviation shares closed 8.5 per cent lower after reports of differences between its promoters Rahul Bhatia and Rakesh Gangwal surfaced.

"Both these promoters have appointed separate law firms to settle a dispute between the two pertaining to management control and appointment of key executives at the Gurugram-based budget airline operator Indigo," said Deepak Jasani of HDFC Securities.

IT stocks were largely up led by Infosys as after a dip in the previous fiscal, net hiring at the top four IT companies hit an eight-year high of 78,500 in FY19, Jasani added.

Shares of private lender Yes Bank continued to trade under pressure, hitting a 38-month low of Rs 134.6, before closing 3.6 per cent lower at Rs 137.75.