Domestic equity benchmark indices closed sharply higher on Monday, buoyed by a steep decline in crude oil prices, renewed foreign institutional investor (FII) inflows and a stronger rupee, while investors awaited the Reserve Bank of India’s monetary policy decision later this week.
The NSE Nifty 50 surged 390.70 points, or 1.60 per cent, to close at 24,774.30, while the BSE Sensex gained 544.39 points, or 0.70 per cent, to settle at 78,639.03.
Among sectoral indices on the NSE, IT led the gains with a 2.68 per cent rise, followed by FMCG (1.72 per cent), Metal (1.55 per cent), Auto (1.48 per cent), PSU Bank (1.41 per cent), Consumer Durables (1.39 per cent), Oil & Gas (0.97 per cent) and Pharma (0.49 per cent). Nifty Media was the only major sectoral index to end in negative territory, falling over 3 per cent.
Investor sentiment was further supported by a more than 4 per cent decline in Brent crude oil prices to around USD 83.8 per barrel amid easing geopolitical tensions. The Indian rupee was trading at Rs 95.33 against the US dollar at the time of filing.
Elsewhere in Asia, markets ended on a mixed note. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.13 per cent, South Korea’s KOSPI declined more than 5 per cent and Singapore’s Straits Times slipped 0.29 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, however, advanced 0.54 per cent.
