Sensex ends 139 points higher; TCS rallies nearly 5%

Mumbai: Equity benchmark Sensex added another 139 points on Monday, marking third straight session of gains, as encouraging start of the earnings season by IT major TCS boosted investors' sentiment.

After rising over 200 points intra-day, the 30-share BSE index finally settled 138.73 points, or 0.36 per cent, higher at 38,905.84. The broader NSE Nifty rose 46.90 points, or 0.40 per cent, to close at 11,690.35.

The rally was mainly driven by Sensex heavyweight TCS, soaring 4.78 per cent, which posted strong Q4 numbers.

However, in percentage terms, Tata Motors was the biggest gainer in the Sensex pack rallying 7.04 per cent. Other top performers were TCS, Coal India, Tata Steel, Hero MotoCorp, Kotak Bank, HCL Tech, Bharti Airtel, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Auto and NTPC, ending up to 4.78 per cent higher.

Sectorally, metal, auto and IT stocks were leading gainers amid sustained foreign fund inflow.

IT bellwether TCS soared after the company Friday reported a 17.7 per cent growth in consolidated net profit at Rs 8,126 crore for the March 2019 quarter. However, rival Infosys was the top loser on Sensex, shedding 2.83 per cent, due to concerns on the revenue guidance front.

Infosys posted a 10.5 per cent rise in consolidated net profit at Rs 4,078 crore for the March 2019 quarter, and guided towards 7.5-9.5 per cent growth in revenue for FY 2019-20.

Other losers include, Sun Pharma, Yes Bank, ONGC, Asian Paints, HDFC, ICICI Bank, L&T, ITC and RIL, slipping up to 1.26 per cent.

Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) purchased equity worth Rs 897.45 crore on Friday, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold equities to the tune of Rs 15.99 crore, provisional data available with stock exchanges showed.

Elsewhere in Asia, markets in Japan, China and Korea ended on a mixed note.

In Europe, bourses in Germany, France and the UK were trading in the positive terrain in early deals.

Global crude oil benchmark Brent futures fell 0.73 per cent to USD 71.03 per barrel.

Meanwhile, the Indian rupee depreciated 19 paise to 69.36 against the US dollar intra-day.