Sensex Gains 320 Points, Nifty Ends Above 18,110 On Positive Cues. IT Stocks Up 2 Per Cent

Stock update: On the 30-share Sensex platform, HUL, Sun Pharma, TechM, TCS, Infosys, SBI were the top six winners. On the flip side, UltraCemco, NTPC, Tata Steel, L&T, Reliance, Titan emerged losers

Sensex and Nifty, the two key equity benchmarks, on Monday ended day’s trade on firm ground as benchmark indices closed with decent gains, tracking positive sentiment. A strong traction in IT shares has aided investors confidence.

The BSE Sensex, which leaped around 500 points to the day's high, settled 320 points higher at 60,942. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty ended at 18,118, up 91 points.

On the 30-share Sensex platform, HUL, Sun Pharma, TechM, TCS, Infosys, SBI were the top six winners. On the flip side, UltraCemco, NTPC, Tata Steel, L&T, Reliance, Titan emerged losers.

In the broader markets, BSE Midcap index rose 0.4 per cent, while the Smallcap index trailed the market and closed 0.3 per cent down.

The rise in the Midcap segment led by up to 7 per cent rally in Delhivery, Torrent Power, Persistent Systems, Tata Elxsi, Bajaj Holdings, and AU Bank. Among stocks, YES Bank tanked 8 per cent following disappointing Q3 result.

Sectorwise, Nifty IT clocked around a 2 per cent gain, followed by nearly 1 per cent upmove in bank, auto, FMCG and pharma indices. Metals and realty were the only pockets to close lower.

In the previous session on Friday, the S&P BSE Sensex closed 237 points lower at 60,622, after it touched an intra-day high of 61,001. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty50 settled at 18,028, down 80 points. The Nifty50 touched the day's high of 18,145 before fizzling out gains.

Meanwhile, the rupee fell 21 paise to close as 81.38 (provisional) against the US dollar on Monday amid rise in crude prices. However, strong sentiment at domestic equities market and a weak dollar restricted the fall of the local currency, forex traders said.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened stronger at 80.92 to a dollar against the previous close of 81.17. The local unit moved in a range of 81.47 to 80.93 during the day. On Friday, the rupee had appreciated by 19 paise to close at 81.17 against the US dollar.

Meanwhile, the US dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, declined 0.35 per cent to 101.66 amid concerns over US economic growth.

The Brent crude rose 0.26 per cent to $87.86 per barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital market on Friday as they sold shares worth Rs 2,002.25 crore, according to exchange data.