A strong trend in the global markets due to renewed optimism over U.S.-China trade talks pushed the Indian benchmarks higher. The Sensex closed at a new high on Monday and the broader Nifty a tad lower than its all-time closing high seen in June.
The 30-share Sensex gained 529.82 points, or 1.31%, to close at a new high of 40,889.23. Earlier in the day, it came close to the psychological mark of 41,000 to touch an intraday high of 40,931.71.
The bulk of the index gains were contributed by heavyweights like HDFC, Axis Bank, Bharti Airtel, Reliance Industries, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Indusind Bank and State Bank of India, among others.
The broader Nifty gained 159.35 points, or 1.34%, to close at 12,073.75 — only slightly lower than its all-time high close of 12,088.55 witnessed on June 3.
Investor sentiments in India were lifted amid an overall strong trend in global markets after it emerged that the U.S. and China were nearing a solution on a key issue related to intellectual property in their overall trade negotiations. China has said it would raise penalties on violations of intellectual property rights.
Elsewhere in Asia, the benchmarks of Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan and China all ended the day in the positive territory on Monday.
“Signs of a cooling in rhetoric between U.S. and China has contributed to a resumption in foreign flows into India,” said S. Hariharan, head, sales trading, Emkay Global Financial Services.
FPI flows pick up
“Today’s market move is in line with similarly strong sentiment across Asian markets. A pick-up in credit disbursement led by PSU banks over the festive period, coupled with fiscal easing, has contributed to stronger consumer demand across segments,” Mr. Hariharan added.
Foreign portfolio investors, who bought shares worth nearly ₹12,400 crore in October, are net buyers at more than ₹18,000 crore in the current month till date. The strong sentiment was further reflected in the overall market breadth with 1,400 stocks gaining on the BSE, as against 1,100 declines.
