Easing trade concerns, global cues drive up indices

Reports on U.S.-China talks to prevent trade war spur rise

Mumbai: A woman walks past a bronze replica of a bull at the Bombay Stock Exchange as Sensex closed 486 points up, in Mumbai on Wednesday. PTI Photo by Santosh Hirlekar(PTI2_1_2017_000216B)

A strong recovery in the global markets pushed the Indian benchmarks up by more than 1% on Monday as concerns eased after reports that the U.S. and China are in talks to avoid a possible trade war.

The 30-share Sensex rose 469.87 points or 1.44% to close at 33066.41. Banking majors like Yes Bank, State Bank of India and HDFC Bank were among the top gainers, rising between 2-6% each.

The broader Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) reclaimed the psychological level of 10,000, gaining 132.60 points or 1.33% to 10,130.65. The market breadth was positive with 1,573 stocks gaining ground on the BSE, as against 1,184 declines.

Sectoral indices rise

Most of the sectoral indices also rose, with those representing banking, metals and consumer durables rising more than 2% each. Elsewhere in Asia, the Hang Seng gained 240 points while the Nikkei rose 148 points. Most European markets were also in the green during the afternoon trading session on Monday.

“A higher opening in European stocks and recovery in Asian shares boosted gains on domestic bourses,” said Karthikraj Lakshmanan, senior fund manager, Equities, BNP Paribas Mutual Fund.

According to reports, while both the U.S. and China are mulling trade barriers in the form of import tariffs, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Sunday that he had been talking to Chinese officials in an effort to prevent a full-blown trade war.