Sensex gains 388 points as crude price drops

A benchmark index of Indian equities markets ended 388 points or 1.92 percent up on Monday as crude price dropped after a breakthrough nuclear deal between world powers and Iran over the weekend.

The rally was led by capital goods, banking index (bankex), public sector undertakings (PSUs), fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), auto and oil and gas sectors. The IT sector faced selling pressure.

The 30-scrip S&P Sensex of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 20,326.66 points, closed at 20,605.08 points, up 387.69 points or 1.92 percent from its previous day close at 20,217.39 points.

The Sensex touched a high of 20,626.15 points and a low of 20,326.66 points intra-day.

The S&P BSE capital goods index rose by 346.48 points, bankex surged by 443.10 points, PSU index gained 126.86 points, FMCG index increased by 133.89 points, auto index moved up by 242.95 points and oil and gas index gained 145.36 points; while IT index was marginally down by 3.80 points. 

The wider 50-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) closed trade 119.90 points or 2 percent up at 6,115.35 points.

Major Sensex gainers were: Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited, up 5.22 percent at Rs.144.15; ICICI Bank, up 5.07 percent at Rs.1073.30; Larsen & Toubro, up 3.97 percent at Rs.1,002.25; ONGC, up 3.70 percent at Rs.288.45; State Bank of India, up 3.69 percent at Rs.1,804.55; and Tata Motors, up 3.28 percent at Rs.385.50.

The main losers were: Infosys, down 0.65 percent at Rs.3,327.60; NTPC, down 0.46 percent at Rs.149.90; and Dr.Reddy’s Laboratories, down 0.07 percent at Rs.2,434.

Among the Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei closed 1.54 percent up while China’s Shanghai Composite Index was down by 0.47 percent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.05 percent.

In Europe, London’s FTSE 100 was trading 0.29 percent up, Germany’s DAX Index was up 0.86 percent and the French CAC 40 Index was up by 0.54 percent. 

-IANS