Sensex hits new closing high of 40,889 pts

Benchmark Sensex on Monday surged 530 points to hit a fresh closing high of 40,889.23, driven by gains mainly in telecom, metal and auto stocks amid renewed optimism over US-China trade truce. 

After touching its record intra-day high of 40,931.71, the 30-share BSE Sensex ended 529.82 points, or 1.31 per cent, higher at 40,889.23. 

Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty settled just shy of its life-time closing high, up 159.35 points, or 1.34 per cent, at 12,073.75. 

Bharti Airtel was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rallying over 7.20 per cent, followed by Tata Steel 4.99 per cent, IndusInd Bank 3.49 per cent, Axis Bank 3.26 per cent and HDFC 2.57 per cent. 

On the other hand, ONGC fell 2.17 per cent and Yes Bank shed 1.70 per cent. 

According to traders, domestic benchmarks followed global equities which were enthused by reports that a preliminary trade deal between the US and China may be signed by the end of this year. 

Bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Seoul and Tokyo were trading up to 1.50 per cent higher. 

Stocks in Europe were also trading on a positive note. 

On the currency front, the rupee was flat against the US dollar at 71.71. 

Brent futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.11 per cent to USD 62.44 per barrel.

Photograph: Hitesh Harisinghani/Rediff.com.