Markets in green for 3rd session

Mumbai: Extending the winning run to the third straight day, benchmark Sensex jumped 597 points on Tuesday on buying in blue-chip stocks like HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries and firm trends in global markets. Banking stocks gained the most ahead of the RBI Monetary Policy Committee meeting, while metal stocks benefited from increased import duties and favourable manufacturing data from China.

The 30-share index jumped 597.67 points or 0.74 per cent to settle at 80,845.75. During the day, it surged 701.02 points or 0.87 per cent to 80,949.10. The broader NSE Nifty rose by 181.10 points or 0.75 per cent to 24,457.15. The market capitalisation (mcap) of BSE-listed companies surged to Rs4,53,52,644.40 crore (Rs453.52 lakh cr or $5.35 trn). “Benchmark indices continued to demonstrate resilience amidst positive global sentiment. Investors are now focusing on potential growth drivers, assuming that weak economic data has already been reflected in the recent lackluster corporate earnings,” said Vinod Nair, head (research), Geojit Financial Services.

The BSE smallcap gauge jumped 1.03 per cent and midcap index climbed 0.92 per cent. Among sectoral indices, services rallied 2.13 per cent, followed by utilities (1.41%), industrials (1.36%), capital goods (1.23%), power (1.20%) and commodities (1.16%). Telecommunication and FMCG were the laggards. As many as 2,740 stocks advanced while 1,219 declined and 108 remained unchanged on the BSE.

From the 30-share Sensex pack, Adani Ports surged nearly 6 per cent. NTPC, Axis Bank, State Bank of India, Larsen & Toubro, UltraTech Cement, Tata Motors, HDFC Bank and Reliance Industries were the other big gainers. Bharti Airtel, ITC, Sun Pharma, Asian Paints and Kotak Mahindra Bank were the laggards.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong settled higher. European markets were trading in the green. US markets ended mostly in the positive territory on Monday.