Markets back in green on liquidity boost

​Mumbai: Equity benchmarks snapped their three-day losing streak on Monday as the RBI announced measures to shore up liquidity amid the government pressing for a change of management at the crisis-hit IL&FS.

The 30-share BSE Sensex soared 299 points in see-saw trade to close at 36,526.14, while the NSE Nifty jumped 77.85 points to reclaim the 11,000-mark. Positive manufacturing PMI data for September and healthy auto sales numbers also reassured investors, brokers said. 

Shares of IL&FS group companies surged up to 20 per cent Monday after the government moved the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) for change of management at the crisis-hit firm. The NCLT allowed the government's plea to reconstitute the board of Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Ltd (IL&FS) after-market hours Monday. 
The Reserve Bank Monday announced that it will inject Rs 36,000 crore liquidity into the system through purchase of government bonds in October to meet the festival season demand for funds. The Sensex opened on a strong note at 36,274.25 but soon declined due to concerns surrounding the NBFC space and the commercial paper market. 

However, it recovered in afternoon trade to touch a high of 36,616.64, before finally closing higher by 299.00 points, or 0.83 per cent, at 36,526.14. The NSE Nifty gained 77.85 points, or 0.71 per cent, to finish at 11,008.30. Intra-day, it shuttled between 10,821.55 and 11,035.65. Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net sold shares worth Rs 1,699.94 crore Friday, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought equities to the tune of Rs 3,256.34 crore, as per provisional data. 

Meanwhile, the BSE small-cap index fell 0.25 per cent while the mid-cap gauge gained 0.53 per cent. Auto stocks rose after companies posted healthy sales numbers for September. Bajaj Auto reported a 17 per cent increase in total sales in September, while Hinduja Group flagship Ashok Leyland reported a 26 per cent rise. The country's largest car maker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI), however, reported a marginal decline. In other Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei gained 0.52 per cent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.26 per cent and Shanghai Composite Index climbed 1.06 per cent.