The benchmark equity indices ended nearly 1 per cent higher on Monday led by a rise in metals and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) stocks.
The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 36,270, up 307 points or 0.9 per cent, while the broader Nifty50 index settled at 10,888, up 83 points or 0.8 per cent.
In sectoral indices, metal stocks gained the most during the day, followed by financial services counters. The Nifty Metal index settled 2 per cent higher led by Hindustan Copper, Jindal Steel & Power and Vedanta. The Nifty Financial Services ended 1 per cent higher led by Max Financial Services and ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company.
Among individual stocks, BEML rallied 8 per cent to Rs 846 apiece on BSE after the company bagged contract worth of Rs 30.15 billion from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) to supply rolling stock on Metro corridors 2A, 2B and 7.
Tata Motors traded higher for the fifth straight day, gaining 4.1% at Rs 174 on BSE after a news report suggested that the company-owned Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) plans to cut thousands of jobs as part of a turnaround strategy.
Shares of Bandhan Bank ended higher for the fourth straight session, rising 7.5 per cent to Rs 573 on the BSE after the Kolkata-based private sector lender received prior approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to open new branches. In the past four trading days, Bandhan Bank has rallied 22.2 per cent from Rs 469 on December 11.
In the broader market, however, the small-cap and mid-cap indices underperformed their benchmark peers. The S&P BSE MidCap rose 0.4 per cent to 15,258, while the S&P BSE SmallCap index ended at 14,540, up 0.3 per cent.
Rupee
The rupee traded on a firm note against the US dollar, having risen to 71.56 in intra-day trade. The domestic unit on Friday closed at 71.90 against the greenback.
Global Markets
Asian share markets began the week on a cautious note after soft economic data from China and Europe added to evidence of cooling global growth and reinforced anxiety over the broadening impact of international trade frictions.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dipped 0.1 per cent in early Monday trade, led by losses in China and Hong Kong. The CSI 300 of Shanghai and Shenzhen share index dropped 0.9 per cent. Other markets showed some resilience. Japan’s Nikkei was up 0.5 per cent while US stock futures ticked up 0.2 per cent. Taiwan also gained 0.3 per cent.
Oil Prices
Oil prices steadied on Monday after slipping by around 2 per cent last week but remained under pressure from oversupply and concern over the prospects for global economic growth and fuel demand.
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