Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty closed near six-month highs on Monday as investors scooped up banking and financial stocks amid supportive global cues.
A sharp rebound in the rupee – which soared 52 paise against the U.S. dollar – also buoyed market sentiment, traders said.
The BSE Sensex opened in the green and gained further momentum as the session progressed. It finally closed at 38,799.08, up 364.36 points or 0.95%.
Similarly, the NSE Nifty jumped 94.85 points or 0.83% to finish at 11,466.45.
This is the highest closing for both the benchmarks since late-February this year.
Kotak Bank was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, spurting 3.53%, followed by IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finance, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finserv, SBI, Maruti and HDFC.
On the other hand, PowerGrid, M&M, Tech Mahindra, Titan, NTPC, Bajaj Auto, HUL and UltraTech Cement were among the laggards, dropping up to 2.06%.
Global equities advanced on hopes for a coronavirus treatment after the USFDA allowed use of blood plasma from recovered patients for treating COVID-19 cases.
Reports also said the Trump administration is mulling relaxation of certain norms to allow an experimental COVID-19 vaccine from the U.K. to be used in the U.S. ahead of the Presidential elections in November.
“Key indices rallied as financials led the charge, ably supported by select pivotals across the BFSI space. The broader market too depicted strength as smart investors were seen buying select small and midcap stocks across sectors which lent considerable steam to the rally today,” said S. Ranganathan, Head of Research at LKP Securities.
BSE bankex, finance, telecom, basic materials, energy and industrials indices surged as much as 2.45%, while realty, utilities, metal and IT closed with losses. Broader BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices rallied up to 1.57%.
In rest of Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul ended with significant gains. Stock exchanges in Europe too opened on a strong note. In the forex market, the rupee soared 52 paise to settle at 74.32 against the U.S. dollar.
Meanwhile, global oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.71% higher at USD 45.25 per barrel.
A single-day spike of 61,408 COVID-19 cases took India’s virus caseload past the 31-lakh mark on Monday, a day after it crossed 30 lakh, while recoveries surged to 23,38,035, according to the Union Health Ministry data.
India’s COVID-19 caseload mounted to 31,06,348, while the death toll climbed to 57,542, the data showed.
