Equities shake off virus despairs as bulls return

Mumbai: Reversing two sessions of declines, the Sensex surged over 558 points while the Nifty recaptured the 11,300-mark on Tuesday as investors snapped up IT, auto and financial stocks amid firm global cues.

After opening above the key 38,000-level, the 30-share BSE Sensex went on to touch the day's high of 38,555 in late-afternoon trade. It finally closed at 38,492.95, up 558.22 points or 1.47 per cent.

Likewise, the broader NSE Nifty vaulted 168.75 points or 1.52 per cent to end at 11,300.55.

UltraTech Cement was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, leaping 7.17 per cent, following better-than-expected results.

The Aditya Birla Group firm reported a 38 per cent decline in consolidated net profit at Rs 796.31 crore for the June quarter, but managed to beat Street estimates.

TCS, Kotak Mahindra Bank, M&M, Maruti, IndusInd Bank and Bajaj Auto were the other prominent gainers, rising as much as 4.69 per cent.

Only five index constituents finished in the red -- ICICI Bank, Nestle, Asian Paints, ONGC and ITC, shedding up to 1.84 per cent.

Asian markets posted significant gains following upbeat US stocks in anticipation of more growth-supportive measures by the US Federal Reserve later this week.

"Indian benchmark indices closed up by around 1.4 per cent, with Auto and IT constituents contributing the most to the gains. Some of the stocks rallied on the basis of their earnings results, with operating margins and earnings visibility being the key notables.

"Globally, there was an expectation that the US Fed would continue with its dovish policy stance, which would ensure liquidity, especially into emerging markets like India. Liquidity has been a key driver for the market performance, and the Fed decision is likely to be greeted positively. The advice to remain cautious remains and investors must accumulate only quality stocks," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

All BSE sectoral indices closed with gains, led by auto (3.26 per cent), IT (2.54 per cent), basic materials (2.41 per cent), metal (2.32 per cent) and teck (2.18 per cent).

However, the BSE small-cap, mid-cap and large-cap indices under-performed the benchmark, with 0.61 per cent, 0.76 per cent and 1.46 per cent gains, respectively.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude slipped 0.07 per cent to $43.87 per barrel.