Sensex vaults 293 points on robust buying, shrugs off crude oil spike

The NSE 50-share Nifty spurted 97.25 points, or 0.92 per cent, to 10,715.50

Benchmark Sensex surged past the 35,000-mark on Monday as earnings optimism and bargain hunting in recently-battered counters sparked a sustained mid-session upswing amid mixed overseas cues.

Fresh buying by domestic institutional investors and optimism ahead of some key earnings added to the momentum, brokers said.

The 30-share Sensex rallied almost 293 points to finish at 35,208.14, while the broad-based Nifty reclaimed the 10,700-level with a 97-point leap.

Globally, while Asian markets ended mixed despite a strong closing on Wall Street, US crude prices topped the $75 mark for the first time since 2014 on rising geopolitical concerns.

Back home, the BSE benchmark Sensex opened higher at 34,983.59 and hovered in a range of 35,259.81 to 34,977.74 before finishing at 35,208.14, showing a gain of 292.76 points or 0.84 per cent.

This is its highest closing since February 1, 2018, when it had finished at 35,906.66.

The gauge had lost 261.04 points in the previous two sessions.

The NSE 50-share Nifty spurted 97.25 points, or 0.92 per cent, to 10,715.50 after shuttling between 10,725.65 and 10,635.65.

Meanwhile, domestic institutional investors bought shares worth a net Rs 1,084.09 crore, while foreign portfolio investors offloaded equities worth Rs 1,628.23 crore on Friday, provisional data showed.

"Friday's upbeat closing in Wall Street lifted the domestic sentiment, as weak US jobs data has further eased the prospects of a near term FOMC rate hike.

"Sustained FII selling in cash continues to be a limiting factor, but earnings positivity has kept the momentum in favour of the bulls so far. But persistent rise in oil continues to be a drag...," said Anand James, chief market strategist, Geojit Financial Services.

M&M was the biggest gainer in the Sensex kitty, rising 3.68 per cent, followed by Axis Bank, which advanced 2.82 per cent.

ICIC Bank jumped 2.30 per cent ahead of its results.

Other gainers were Tata Steel 2.52 per cent, HUL 1.91 per cent, SBI 1.88 per cent, RIL 1.88 per cent, ONGC 1.83 per cent, ITC 1.59 per cent, Asian Paints 1.56 per cent, Wipro 1.48 per cent, L&T 1.33 per cent, Kotak Mahindra Bank 1.06 per cent, Adani Ports 0.99 per cent, Power Grid 0.96 per cent, Bajaj Auto 0.92 per cent, Infosys 0.89 per cent, Maruti Suzuki 0.73 per cent, Yes Bank 0.61 per cent, Bharti Airtel 0.35 per cent and Tata Motors 0.24 per cent.

However, Dr Reddy's fell 1.75 per cent, Coal India 1.64 per cent, TCS 1.53 per cent, Sun Pharma 1 per cent, HDFC Bank 0.55 per cent, Hero Motocorp 0.27 per cent and NTPC 0.15 per cent.

Among the sectoral indices, metal climbed 1.68 per cent, oil and gas 1.64 per cent, realty 1.51 per cent, consumer durables 1.45 per cent, auto 1.43, PSU 1.18 per cent, infrastructure 1.13 per cent, bankex 1.12 per cent, capital goods 1.12 per cent, FMCG 1.12 per cent and power 0.50 per cent.

Healthcare fell 0.53 per cent and IT shed 0.01 per cent.

The broader markets outperformed the benchmark. The BSE small-cap and mid-cap indices gained 0.56 per cent and 0.55 per cent, respectively.

Pfizer hit a fresh 52-week high ahead of its March quarter earnings.

Ruchi Soya rallied 7.09 per cent as the race to acquire the debt-laden firm heats up.

Meanwhile, global oil prices reached their highest since November 2014, affected by a deepening economic crisis in Venezuela and uncertainty over the US re-imposing sanctions against Iran.

Brent crude oil futures were at USD 75.49 per barrel, up 62 cents, or 0.83 per cent.

Most oil and gas stocks jumped, including GAIL (3.93 per cent), Oil India (2.57 per cent), IOC (1.58 per cent), BPCL (1.43 per cent) and HPCL (0.86 per cent).

Asian markets ended mixed despite a strong closing on Wall Street as investors digested last week's trade talks between the US and China, while US jobs data eased fears of faster rate hike by the Federal Reserve.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.22 per cent and Shanghai Composite Index was up 1.48 per cent, while Japan's Nikkei shed 0.03 per cent.

In Europe, Frankfurt's DAX rose 0.36 per cent while Paris gained 0.09 per cent.

Photograph: Danish Siddiqui/Reuters