Sensex rallies over 770 pts, Nifty tops 25,900 mark on global cues, US-India trade optimism

Equity benchmark index Sensex jumped over 770 points while Nifty was trading above the 25,900 level in afternoon trade on Wednesday driven by a flurry of buying by investors across sectors amid a rally in Asian markets.

Besides, traders said optimism over an impending India-US trade deal and progress towards ending a prolonged US government shutdown bolstered investor sentiment.

The 30-share BSE Sensex benchmark zoomed 773.64 points, or 0.92 per cent, to 84,644.96 at 13:20 hours in afternoon trade. On the similar lines, the NSE Nifty rallied by 231.8 points, or 0.90 per cent to 25,926.75.

Buying in blue-chip counters such as Reliance Industries, Infosys and Bharti Airtel further supported the indices, they added.

From the Sensex pack, Tech Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Services, Reliance Industries, Adani Ports, Titan, Eternal, HCL Technologies, Infosys, Bajaj Finserv, Trent, Bharti Airtel, Sun Pharmaceuticals, Bajaj Finance, PowerGrid, State Bank of India and Asian Paints were among the gainers.

On the other hand, newly-listed Tata Motors Commercial Vehicles, Tata Steel, Bharat Electronics Ltd, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, Hindustan Unilever and Kotak Mahindra Bank were among the laggards.

Market experts said that investor sentiment was further buoyed after Bihar exit polls indicated a likely victory for the incumbent NDA alliance.

In Asian markets, South Korea’s Kospi, Japan’s Nikkei 225 benchmark ended higher while Shanghai’s SSE Composite Index closed lower. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng is trading in the positive zone.

The US markets closed largely higher on Tuesday.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.37 per cent to USD 64.92 per barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FII) offloaded equities worth Rs 803.22 crore on Tuesday while Domestic Institutional Investors bought stocks worth Rs 2,188.47 crore, according to the exchange data.

“Bulls took charge on Tuesday as Nifty staged a strong comeback, buoyed by exit polls in Bihar predicting a BJP–JD(U) landslide and optimism over a US-India trade deal, possible Fed rate cuts, and hopes of an end to the US shutdown. While sentiment is upbeat, concerns linger over the Delhi bomb blast and FII selling worth Rs 803 crore,” Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd, said.

On Tuesday, the 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 335.97 points to settle at 83,871.32, while the NSE Nifty climbed 120.60 points to close at 25,694.95.