Recovery in global markets pushes Sensex by 491 points

Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty closed higher for a second straight session on Monday following buying in index majors Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank and recovery in global markets.

The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 491.01 points or 0.85 per cent to settle at 58,410.98 as 24 of its components advanced. The index opened lower and fell to a low of 57,639.80 in early trade. However, it bounced back in late morning deals and rallied 529.03 points or 0.91 per cent to touch a high of 58,449 points.

The broader NSE Nifty climbed 126.10 points or 0.73 per cent to close above the 17,300 level at 17,311.80 with 37 of its constituents ending in the green.

"Domestic market started weak in-line with a volatile global market. However, due to buying on dips strategy, the domestic market is recovering well supported by a good start to Q2 earnings season by IT and banks," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

Among Sensex shares, State Bank of India, NTPC, Bajaj Finserv, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Reliance Industries, and IndusInd Bank were the biggest winners.

On the other hand, Larsen & Toubro, HCL Technologies, Wipro, Tata Steel, Nestle, Power Grid and Bharti Airtel were the laggards.

Ajit Mishra, VP - Research, Religare Broking Ltd said that markets shrugged off global weakness and started the week on a positive note. Though most sectors participated in the move, banking and energy majors played a crucial role in the surge. The broader indices too ended with modest gains.

In the broader market, the BSE midcap gauge climbed 0.26 per cent and the smallcap index went higher by 0.09 per cent.

Among BSE sectoral indices, utilities climbed 1.86 per cent, power jumped 1.85 per cent, bankex (1.60 per cent), financial services (1.13 per cent), energy (0.66 per cent) and consumer discretionary (0.21 per cent).

Metal, realty, telecommunication and capital goods were among the laggards.

In Asia, markets in Seoul, Shanghai and Hong Kong settled higher, while Tokyo ended lower.

Stock exchanges in Europe were trading in the positive territory in mid-session deals. Wall Street had ended significantly lower on Friday.

International oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.07 per cent lower at USD 91.57 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the Indian capital market on Friday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 1,011.23 crore, as per exchange data.