BSE Sensex, an equity benchmark, rose 412 points to trade at above 61,000 while NSE Nifty gained 118 points Monday morning on Monday due to gains in IT and banking shares following positive quarterly earnings.
BSE’s 30-share barometer rose by 412.73 points, or 0.68 percent to 61.034.50 with 25 of its constituents trading in the green. The index opened at 60.876.01 compared to the 60.621.77 closing.
The 50-issue Nifty of National Stock Exchange rose 0.66 percent to 18,146.45 points, with 40 of its scrips moving up.
The index opened strong at 18,118.45, and reached a peak of 18,150.85 during early deals.
Reliance Industries, HDFC twins and SBI were among the companies that contributed to the rally in benchmark indices.
Among the top gainers were Sensex pack and Tata Motors.
Ultratech Cement saw the largest drop of 1.6%, while Tata Steel, NTPC and Asian Paints also traded lower.
“The early Q3 results were generally positive, with both banks and IT companies delivering excellent results. The latest results from ICICI, Kotak Bank continue this trend. Reliance too has produced a decent set,” V K Vijayakumar (Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services), said.
The Lunar New Year holiday saw Asian markets close for most of the week, with Shanghai being the only exception.
Tokyo’s Nikkei225 index rose 1.1%, while the S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.1% after Friday’s rally in US stocks. On Friday, the S&P 500 rose by 1.9 percent while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1%. On gains in tech stocks, the Nasdaq gained 2.7%.
Brent crude oil, which is the international benchmark price for trading, rose 40 cents per barrel to USD 87.23.
On Monday, the rupee surpassed the 80 level against the US currency by 19 paise. This was the first time that the currency has surpassed this mark in two months.
