Stock Market: Sensex Surges 442 Points, Nifty Ends Above 17,650 Amid Buying Across Sectors

Stock update: Sun Pharma, ITC, NTPC, Reliance Industries, Larsen & Toubro, Tata Steel, HCL Technologies, and ICICI Bank were among the major gainers on the Sensex platform

Sensex and Nifty, the two key equity benchmarks rallied 0.75 per cent to re-visit the 59,000-mark on Monday, tracking heavy buying in index heavyweights Reliance Industries and ICICI Bank.

The BSE Sensex rose 442 points (0.75 per cent) to settle at 59,245. During the day, it jumped 504 points (0.85 per cent) to 59,308. The NSE Nifty advanced 126.35 points (0.72 per cent) to 17,665.

On the 30-share Sensex platform, Sun Pharma, ITC, NTPC, Reliance Industries, Larsen & Toubro, Tata Steel, HCL Technologies, and ICICI Bank were among the major gainers. On the flip side, Nestle, UltraTech Cement, Wipro, PowerGrid, Asian Paints, and Hindustan Unilever were the laggards.

In the broader market, the BSE MidCap index added 0.46 per cent and the BSE SmallCap index gained 0.9 per cent.

Sectorwise it was a sea of green with the Nifty Private Bank index leading from the front with 1 per cent gain. 

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Seoul, Tokyo, and Hong Kong ended lower, while Shanghai settled in the green. Equities in Europe were trading lower during the mid-session deals. The US markets had ended lower on Friday. Earlier in Asia, Nikkei dipped 0.11 per cent, Kospi fell 0.24 per cent, and Hang Seng declined 1.16 per cent.

"Benchmark indices outperformed their Asian peers and also shrugged off the weak European market sentiment as investors bet on metals, banking and capital goods stocks. Cautious optimism prevailed as there are enough indications that markets may remain volatile in coming sessions on global slowdown fears," said Shrikant Chouhan, head of equity research (Retail), Kotak Securities Ltd.

The international oil benchmark Brent crude jumped 2.81 per cent to $95.63 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) offloaded shares worth a net Rs 8.79 crore on Friday, as per exchange data. 

Meanwhile, the rupee appreciated 8 paise to close at 79.79 (provisional) against the US dollar on Monday, in line with a firm trend in domestic equities.

At the interbank forex market, the local unit opened at 79.84 against the greenback. It witnessed an intra-day high of 79.79 and a low of 79.90 against the American currency during the session.

It finally ended at 79.79 against the US dollar, up 8 paise from its previous close of 79.87.