Stock Market: Sensex Reclaims 61,000, Climbs 235 Points. Nifty Ends Above 18,200. SBI Up 3 Per Cent

Stock update: On the 30-share Sensex platform, State Bank of India topped the chart, zooming 3.44 per cent, followed by Tata Steel, UltraTech Cement, ICICI Bank, M&M, Maruti, and PowerGrid

Sensex and Nifty, the two equity benchmarks, on Monday climbed over 230 points to reclaim the 61,000-mark after lacklustre trading in the morning amid volatility. The domestic indices were propelled by robust buying in auto, energy, and metal stocks amid a firm trend in global equities. Simultaneously, a strong rupee against the US dollar and persistent foreign capital inflows also supported the domestic equities, according to forex traders.

The BSE Sensex closed 235 points (0.39 per cent) higher at 61,185. The index witnessed a high of 61,401 and a low of 60,714 during intra-day trade. On the other hand, the broader NSE Nifty rose by 86 points (0.47 per cent) to end at 18,202 points.

On the 30-share Sensex platform, State Bank of India topped the chart, zooming 3.44 per cent, followed by Tata Steel, UltraTech Cement, ICICI Bank, M&M, Maruti, and PowerGrid. On the flip side, Asian Paints, Bajaj Finserv, Sun Pharma, and Titan were among the laggards, shedding up to 2.37 per cent.

The overall market breadth was in favour of the bulls, with 18 of the 30 Sensex counters closing in the green.

In the broader markets, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices added 0.6 per cent each.

Sectorwise, the Nifty PSU Bank index sharply outperformed other indices as it gained 4.5 per cent. The Nifty Metal index advanced 1.6 per cent, while the Nifty Auto index gained 1.3 per cent. The Nifty Pharma index was the only loser, down 1.4 per cent.

In the previous session on Friday, the 30-share index gained momentum as the session progressed to close 114 points (0.19 per cent) higher at 60,950. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty rose 64 points (0.36 per cent) to 18,117.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Seoul logged gains. Stock exchanges in Europe too were trading in the positive territory in mid-session deals. Wall Street had ended higher in the previous session on Friday.

International oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.19 per cent lower at $98.38 per barrel.

Meanwhile, the rupee appreciated by 45 paise to close at 81.90 (provisional) against the US dollar on Monday.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers on Friday as they bought shares worth Rs 1,436.25 crore, as per exchange data.235