Rate cut, firm global cues lift Sensex 376 points higher

Benchmark Indices gained for the second consecutive session after higher-than-expected repo rate cut by 50bps by the  Reserve Bank of India on Tuesday while a strong rally in the global markets also boosted sentiment.

The 30-share Sensex ended higher by 376 points or 1.4% at 26,155 and the 50-share Nifty settled at 7,949 levels, up by 105 points or 1.3%

In the broader market, the BSE MidCap index ended with 1.7% gains and the SmallCap index ended up by 1%. The health of the market was strong with 1,670 gainers and 988 losers on the BSE.

The strength in the local equities aided the Indian currency as it firmed up against the US dollar. At closing, the Indian rupee was quoting at 65.72, appreciating by 23 paise.

Meanwhile, the Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers to the tune of Rs 1,112 crores as per provisional stock exchange data.

GLOBAL MARKETS

Asian shares rallied in today’s trade, however, the concerns over China loom in the background. Japan’s Nikkei ended 2.6% higher while HangSeng closed 1.4% higher. Shanghai was up 0.5%

European markets followed Asian peers and are trading firm. All major European indices are up over 2%.

SECTORS & STOCKS

Out of 12 sectors, 11 ended with strong gains while BSE Bankex was the sole loser, down 0.4%.   BSE Metals index was the top gainer with 2.3% gains followed by others.

Yesterday, the central bank’s announcement of 50 bps cut in the repo rate took everyone by surprise, following which the banking and financial shares firmed up.  However, banking shares witnessed selling pressures on account of profit booking today.

Axis Bank, the country's third largest private sector lender, has reduced its base rate by 35 basis points to 9.50%. However, the stock ended down by 1.4%

State Bank of India, the largest lender in the country, announced a 40 basis points cut to 9.3%, making it lowest in the country. The stock lost nearly 2%.

Metals shares have bounced back post the overnight rally in commodity prices. Steel producers like Tata Steel and JSW Steel likely to hike prices by up to Rs 1,500/ton as government recently imposed a prov safeguard duty of 20%. Safeguard duty imposed only on import of certain hot-rolled flat steel pdts. Tata Steel and JSWSteel surged over 5%. Hindalco, Coal India, Jindal Steel all ended over 3%.

L&T gained 1.3%. The engineering major has emerged as the finalist for a $750-million (about Rs 5,000 crore) contract to supply 100 self-propelled artillery guns to the Indian Army.

Hero MotoCorp surged 2.7%. The company has unveiled two scooters developed in-house on new platforms, as the company expands its presence in a segment where former partner Honda Motor is the market leader in India.

RIL surged 2.5% after Reliance Jio Infocomm raised Rs 3,500 crore by issuing non-convertible debentures through private placement.

Shares of Idea Cellular were up over 7% after the company announced that its shareholders have approved all the items of business contained in the notice of the AGM which includes issue of non-convertible securities on private placement basis.

Other notable gainers were Infosys(3.5%), Wipro(1.6%)