Markets rally on easing trade war tensions

Mumbai: Indian stock market on Monday rallied in line with global equities as investors globally heaved a sigh of relief after the US and China called a truce in their long-drawn trade tussle.

Besides, hopes of reform measures in the Union Budget to be unveiled on Friday also fuelled the rally in domestic equites.

Starting the budget week on a positive note, the BSE benchmark Sensex opened significantly higher at 39,543.73 and swung between a high of 39,764.82 and a low of 39,541.09 during the session.

The index finally settled the day with 291.86 points, or 0.74 per cent, gains at 39,686.50. Likewise, the broader NSE Nifty advanced 76.75 points, or 0.65 per cent, to end at 11,865.60.

The index touched a high of 11,884.65 and low of 11,830.80 during the day.

Of the 30 Sensex constituents, 22 closed in the green and 8 in the red. Sectorally, BSE realty, auto, power, healthcare and finance were among the top gainers, rising up to 2.59 per cent.

Bucking the overall trend, oil and gas index slipped 1.69 per cent. Other sectoral losers were consumer durables, telecom and metal. Broader BSE midcap and smallcap indices underperformed the benchmark Sensex.

"While sequential pick up in monthly auto sales and a likely proposal to simplify GST rate due to rise in revenue collection boosted the market sentiment," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services, said.

Investors are watchful ahead of the Union Budget and hopes that fiscal deficit is maintained in the long-term while short-term support is provided with minor dilution in FY20 with non-budgetary resources like RBI reserves, divestment and Public Sector Units, he added.

Meanwhile, the Indian rupee slipped 3 paise to 69.03 against the US dollar intra-day. Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, surged 2.75 per cent to $66.52 per barrel.