The S&P BSE Midcap and the S&P Smallcap indices rallied over 1% each
Illustration: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com
Extending gains for the third straight session, the benchmark indices rose nearly 1% as consumer goods makers such as ITC surged on hopes the newly implemented Goods and Services Tax (GST) would reduce retail prices and boost sales.
The S&P BSE Sensex settled the trade at 31,221, up 300 points, while the broader Nifty50 ended at 9,615, up 94 points.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Midcap and the S&P Smallcap indices rallied over 1% each.
Market breadth depicted strength. There were more than two gainers against every loser on BSE. 1,793 shares rose and 870 shares fell. A total of 171 shares were unchanged.
Sectors and stocks
All sectoral indices on NSE ended in green with The Nifty FMCG index (up 3.8%) being the leading gainer. The index climbed as much as 5.6% to an all-time high of 28,267 in intra-day trade.
Cigarette maker ITC was among the top gainers, rising as much as 9.62% to a record high of Rs 354.80. It drove the Nifty index higher, contributing nearly 45 net points to the index. The stock settled at Rs 342, up nearly 6% on the NSE.
Carmaker Maruti Suzuki India gained nearly 2% to Rs 7,359 after posting a 7.6% jump in June vehicle sales on Saturday, while commercial vehicles maker Ashok Leyland (up 7% to Rs 100) climbed to its highest in a year after reporting an 11% rise in June total sales.
Shares of fertiliser makers surged after the GST Council slashed GST rate for fertilisers to 5% from 12% on Friday.
Shiva Global Agro Industries surged as much as 17.8% to Rs 88 on the BSE. Chambal Fertilisers and Chemicals gained 4% while Nagarjuna Fertilizer & Chemicals and Madras Fertilizers gained more than 3%.
Global markets
European shares began the new quarter with solid gains and Asian shares held near two-year highs, while the dollar lifted from nine-month lows as US Treasury yields hit their highest since mid-May.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index, which suffered its biggest monthly loss in a year in June on worries over tightening monetary conditions, rose 0.7% in early trade, led higher by banks and basic resources firms.
France's CAC 40 index rose 0.8%, Spain's IBEX 0.9% and Italy's FTSE MIB 1%. Britain's main FTSE 100 index added 0.3%.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan held steady, staying within a stone's throw of a two-year peak hit last week.
Japan's Nikkei ticked up 0.1%, buoyed by a Bank of Japan survey showing confidence among big manufacturers hit its highest in more than three months in June.
Chinese blue-chip shares dipped on worries the world's second-biggest economy could be slowing down, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 0.1%.
