Sensex scales fresh closing high on earnings boost, global cues

Equity benchmark BSE Sensex clocked gains for the seventh straight session to settle at a fresh closing peak of 40,302 on Monday, buoyed by encouraging quarterly earnings, sustained foreign fund inflows and positive global cues.

The 30-share Sensex rose 136.93 points, or 0.34 per cent, to end at an all-time high of 40,301.96, beating the previous record closing high of 40,267.62 touched on June 3. The seven-session winning run is also the best since mid-March for the Sensex. The index also hit its record intra-day high of 40,483.21.

The broader NSE Nifty too advanced 50.70 points, or 0.43 per cent, to close at 11,941.30.

Top gainers in the Sensex pack included Infosys, Vedanta, HDFC, Tata Steel, ONGC and ICICI Bank -- rising up to 3.05 per cent.

HDFC shares rose after the company reported an over 76.3 per cent rise in consolidated net profit at Rs 10,748.69 crore in the September quarter.

On the other hand, Maruti, Hero MotoCorp, IndusInd Bank, Tata Motor and PowerGrid lost as much as 2.54 per cent.

Sectorally, BSE metal, telecom, basic materials, IT, teck and finance indices rose up to 3.20 per cent.

While BSE auto, realty, FMCG and consumer durables indices fell up to 1.29 per cent.

Broader BSE midcap and smallcap indices rose up to 0.22 per cent.

Experts said better liquidity from foreign funds, de-escalation in geopolitical risks and focus on upcoming reforms to revive growth also boosted investor sentiment.

Continuing their buying streak for the second straight month, overseas investors pumped in a net Rs 16,464 crore into the Indian capital markets in October 2019.

"Indian markets continued their upward rally as better than anticipated earnings attracted investors. Further, buoyant global markets have supported the Indian markets. For instance, passenger car sales grew last month for the first time since February 2019. On the flows front, FIIs have been net buyers for a second straight month...," Sunil Sharma, Chief Investment Officer, Sanctum Wealth Management, said.

Meanwhile, the Indian rupee appreciated by 4 paise to 70.77 against the US dollar.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.28 per cent to USD 61.86 per barrel.

Globally, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Seoul settled higher on optimism over the US-China trade deal after China's commerce ministry on Saturday announced that top Chinese and US trade negotiators "reached consensus on principles".

Exchanges in Europe were also trading on a positive note in their respective early deals.