Stock markets rebound as US, India begin trade talks; Sensex jumps 595 pts

Mumbai: Stock markets rebounded on Tuesday, with the benchmark Sensex climbing nearly 595 points, amid hopes of a positive outcome from the India-US trade talks. The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 594.95 points or 0.73 per cent to settle at 82,380.69. During the day, it surged 657.74 points or 0.80 per cent to 82,443.48. The 50-share NSE Nifty climbed 169.90 points or 0.68 per cent to 25,239.10. Chief negotiators of India and the US have commenced talks on the proposed trade agreement to iron out issues in the wake of steep tariffs that have created uncertainties for exporters, an official said on Tuesday. A rally in Asian and US peers also instilled optimism in the domestic stock market ahead of this week's US Federal Reserve policy meeting.

Among Sensex firms, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Larsen & Toubro, Mahindra & Mahindra, Maruti, Bharti Airtel and Tata Steel were the major gainers. However, Asian Paints and Bajaj Finance were the laggards. "The domestic market sustained its recovery trend, supported by favourable global cues on expectations of a 25 bps rate cut in the forthcoming US Fed policy decision and renewed optimism surrounding the resumed India-US trade negotiations. "Auto and consumer durable stocks outperformed, ahead of the rollout of new GST rates and festive-driven demand expectations," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited, said. In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi, Japan's Nikkei 225 index and Shanghai's SSE Composite index settled in positive territory while Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended lower. Markets in Europe were trading lower. US markets ended higher on Monday. Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 0.55 per cent to USD 67.07 a barrel. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,268.59 crore on Monday, according to exchange data. On Monday, the Sensex declined by 118.96 points or 0.15 per cent to settle at 81,785.74 after five days of rally. The Nifty settled lower by 44.80 points or 0.18 per cent to 25,069.20, halting its eight days of uptrend.