Sensex regains 27,000 mark on optimism over UK referendum

Stocks rose for the first time in three days amid gains in European equities and US equity-index futures as Britons voted on whether to remain or leave the European Union. Tata Motors, owner of Jaguar Land Rover that gets about a quarter of its revenue from Europe, was the top gainer on the S&P BSE Sensex. Sun Pharmaceutical Industries and Dr Reddy's Laboratories both advanced for a second day. State Bank of India and HDFC Bank paced gains among lenders. ITC rallied to a two-week high. The Sensex stood at 27,002, a rise of 0.9 per cent, or 236.5 points, at the close in Mumbai, with the gauge erasing an intra-day loss of 0.1 per cent after European markets opened. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index jumped 1.8 per cent and Britain's benchmark FTSE 100 Index advanced 1.6 per cent. The India VIX Index, a measure of protection against stock-market swings, erased earlier gain of 3.5 per cent.