Markets rebound after 2 days of fall aided by buying in RIL & Infosys

Mumbai: Benchmark equity indices bounced back sharply and ended in the positive territory on Monday, helped by fag-end buying in index heavyweights Reliance Industries and Infosys along with a firm beginning in European markets.

The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 79.27 points or 0.12 per cent to settle at 65,401.92. During the day, it fell 500.77 points or 0.76 per cent to 64,821.88.

The NSE Nifty gained 6.25 points or 0.03 per cent to end at 19,434.55.

From the Sensex pack, Infosys, Hindustan Unilever, Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, Larsen & Toubro, Asian Paints, Nestle, Axis Bank, Wipro and Kotak Mahindra Bank were the major gainers.

JSW Steel, State Bank of India, Tata Steel, Bajaj Finserv, UltraTech Cement, IndusInd Bank, Tata Motors and Bajaj Finance were the major laggards.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong ended in the negative territory.

In the broader market, the BSE smallcap gauge declined by 0.50 per cent, and the midcap index fell by 0.44 per cent.

Among the indices, metal declined by 1.81 per cent, commodities fell by 1.66 per cent, power (0.91 per cent), realty (0.65 per cent) and utilities (0.63 per cent) were among the major laggards. FMCG, IT and tech were the gainers.

The rupee depreciated 26 paise to settle at an all-time low of 83.08 against the US dollar on Monday, weighed down by a strong greenback overseas and firm crude oil prices in the international markets.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 3,073.28 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 0.33 per cent to $86.52 a barrel.