Sensex jumps 268 points; Nifty above 11,500

In the Sensex kitty, ITC turned star performer by surging 2.45 per cent, followed by NTPC rising 2.19 per cent.

Illustration: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com

Benchmark equity indices continued their winning run for the seventh consecutive session on Tuesday closing at an over six-month high led by gains in index heavyweights like ITC, RIL and Infosys amid positive domestic cues and sustained foreign fund inflow.

The 30-share BSE Sensex touched a high of 38,396.06 before winding up at 38,363.47, recording a rise of 268.40, or 0.70 per cent. Intra-day it also hit a low of 38,078.23.

The gauge had climbed over 1,420 points points in the previous six sessions.

The 50-share NSE Nifty closed at 11,509.80, higher by 70.20 points, or 0.61 per cent, after hovering between 11,543.85 and 11,451.55.

These are the highest levels for both indices since September 7, 2018.

“Better liquidity conditions, stable rupee, and positive movements in all major global markets have been the supportive factors for the domestic markets," said Joseph Thomas, head research- Emkay Wealth Management.

Besides, it may be noted that when the global markets were rising almost a month back, the domestic markets were sliding. The domestic market is gradually catching up with the other markets, he added.

In the Sensex kitty, ITC turned star performer by surging 2.45 per cent, followed by NTPC rising 2.19 per cent.

Other gainers that finished higher were HCL Tech, RIL, Bharti Airtel, ONGC, SBI, Yes Bank, PowerGrid, Axis Bank, M&M, Sun Pharma, Asian Paint, HUL, HDFC, Tata Steel, HDFC Bank, Tata Motors, IndusInd Bank, ICICI Bank and Kotak Bank, rising up to 2.18 per cent.

Software exporter stocks such as Infosys and TCS were back in demand, gaining up to 1.66 per cent, after the USD dollar recovered against the rupee.

In contrast, Hero MotoCorp, L&T, Maruti Suzuki, Bajaj Auto, Coal India, Vedanta and Bajaj Finance ended in the red due to profit-booking and lost up to 2.10 per cent.

Sector-wise, BSE PSU gained the most rising 1.88 per cent, followed by power index 1.32 per cent, FMCG 1.14 per cent, oil and gas 1.0 per cent, teck 1.03 per cent, IT 0.94 per cent, bankex 0.62 percent and consumer durable 0.62 per cent.

However, capital goods dropped by 0.61 per cent, auto index fell 0.61 per cent and metal 0.11 per cent.

The broader markets too depicted a better trend as investors raised bets.

The mid-cap index rose 0.52 per cent and small-cap index was up 0.37 per cent.

Shares of Reliance Communications zoomed 10 per cent after the company cleared dues of Swedish service provider Ericsson.

The scrip jumped 10 per cent to Rs 4.40, its upper circuit limit, on the BSE.

Brokers said sustained foreign fund inflows, widening of portfolios by retail investors and a mixed global cues ahead of the US Federal policy meet, influenced the market here.

On a net basis, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth Rs 1,823 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) offloaded equities to the tune of Rs 1,269 crore Monday, provisional data showed.

Participants continued to remain bullish despite profit-booking at current levels by speculators, traders added.

Most other Asian markets held steady ahead of a Federal Reserve policy meeting later this week, but were broadly at near six-month highs on expectations the US central bank might strike a dovish tone.

In the Asian region, Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.12 per cent, Straits Times was up 0.15 per cent, while Japan's Nikkei shed 0.08 per cent. Shanghai Composite Index too shed 0.18 per cent.

On Wall Street, the US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.25 per cent higher in Monday's session.

In Europe, London's FTSE was up 0.06 per cent and Frankfurt's DAX rose 0.12 per cent in their opening trade. Paris CAC 40, however, down 0.09 per cent.