Sensex closed above 81 thousand level, up 419 points on gains in metal, auto stocks
Mumbai Mumbai: The benchmark BSE Sensex rallied nearly 419 points to cross the 81,000 mark on Monday, while the Nifty jumped 157 points, led by gains in metal, commodity and auto stocks amid a strong trend in global markets. The 30-share Sensex closed 418.81 points, or 0.52 per cent, higher at 81,018.72. During the day’s trade, it rose 493.28 points, or 0.61 per cent, to hit a high of 81,093.19.
The 50-share NSE Nifty closed 157.40 points, or 0.64 per cent, higher at 24,722.75. During the intraday session, it rose 169.3 points, or 0.6 per cent, to hit a high of 24,734.65. Among Sensex companies, Tata Steel, BEL, Adani Ports, Tata Consultancy Services, Tech Mahindra, Bharti Airtel, HCL Technologies, Trent, Mahindra & Mahindra, Reliance Industries, UltraTech Cement and Larsen & Toubro were the major gainers.
However, Power Grid, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Hindustan Unilever were lagging behind. The domestic stock market rallied supported by strong performance of metals and auto sectors. A weak US dollar, strong monthly auto sales and encouraging quarterly results from major automakers helped revive investor interest in these sectors. Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments, said, “The first quarter earnings summary indicates that consumption-based companies are benefiting from a pick-up in volume demand. Meanwhile, rising unemployment and slow job creation in the US have strengthened expectations of a possible interest rate cut by the Fed. However, there is still room for caution due to higher US tariffs.”
In Asian markets, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, South Korea’s Kospi and Shanghai’s SSE Composite index ended in the positive zone, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 index ended in the negative zone. Markets in Europe were trading in the green. US markets ended in the negative zone on Friday. Global oil benchmark Brent crude fell 1.15 per cent to $68.87 per barrel. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth Rs 3,366.40 crore on Friday, according to exchange data. On Friday, the 30-share BSE Sensex closed 585.67 points lower at 80,599.91 and the 50-share NSE Nifty closed 203 points lower at 24,565.35.
