Sensex jumps 292 points, pharma and financial stocks lead the rally

Equity benchmark indices ended strong on Monday with shares of pharma and financial service companies leading the rally amid strong global cues coupled with investors awaiting the Union Budget this week.

The BSE S & P Sensex closed 292 points higher at 39,687 while the Nifty 50 moved up 77 points to wind up at 11,866. At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), all sectoral indices except IT and metal were in the green.

Among stocks, Adani Power soared 17 per cent after the company's board approved the acquisition of an entire stake of Korba West Power Company and GMR Chhattisgarh Energy.

Zee Enterprises was the top index gainer, closing about 8.4 per cent higher. Jet Airways shares gained 4.96 per cent at Rs 70.95 after reports indicated that Hinduja Group and Etihad Airways consortium is in the race to buy the cash-strapped airline.

Pharma major Dr Reddy was up more than 4 per cent. Despite poor sales, the auto stock rallied with Bajaj Auto and Tata Motors both gaining 3.1 per cent each.

However, energy majors lost with Bharat Petroleum slipping 4.1 per cent, ONGC by 3.8 per cent, Indian Oil by 2.4 per cent and Coal India by 1.8 per cent. IT major HCL Tech shed nearly 1.5 per cent.

Meanwhile, Asian stocks rallied as a thaw in US-China trade dispute averted one threat to the global economy.

The United States and China agreed on Saturday to restart trade talks after President Donald Trump offered concessions to his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping when the two met on sidelines of G-20 summit in Japan.

Chinese blue chips jumped 2.6 per cent. Japanese shares also gained, though South Korea's benchmark was little changed.