Sensex extends early gains, up 225 points

Mumbai: Sensex gained 225 points during the afternoon trade session on Monday following supportive global markets after US President Donald Trump said in a tweet that China will "immediately start buying" US agricultural products.

At 12.50 p.m., the Sensex was up 225.11 points at 38,352.19 while the Nifty was up 66.50 points or 0.59 per cent at 11,371.55. The benchmark Sensex opened at 38,208.24 after closing at 38,127.08 on Friday.

Trump on Sunday tweeted: "..I agreed not to increase tariffs from 25 per cent to 30 per cent on October 15th. They will remain at 25 per cent. The relationship with China is very good."

On the domestic front, the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) fell to 0.33 per cent below market expectation owing to sharp plunge in fuel and power inflation.

"While other components continued to remain subdued, onion prices jumped by 122.40 per cent from 33.01 per cent in August.

"The RBI prefers looking at CPI print, however, subdued wholesale inflation still keeps RBI rate cut on cards," said Rahul Gupta, Currency Research Head, Emkay Global Financial Services.