Benchmarks gain for third straight session

While BSE 200, BSE 500 and NSE Midcap hit lifetime highs, Nifty is 121 points away from record high

Indian equities continued their rally for the third straight session on Monday with benchmark indices closing 0.7 per cent higher. While several indices including the BSE 200, the BSE 500 and the NSE Midcap hit their lifetime high during the session, the benchmark indices are just shy of scaling new highs. During the session, the Sensex gained 192.8 points or 0.68 per cent to close at 28,661 while the broader Nifty gained 57.5 points or 0.65 per cent to close at 8,879. Even the market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies clocked a new record or ~117.2 lakh crore.

At Monday’s close, the Nifty was 121 points or 1.3 per cent away from its lifetime high.

TCS emerged as one of the top performers in the 30-share Sensex pack, after the company said its board has approved a share buyback plan of up to ~16,000 crore. Shares of TCS closed at ~2,502.2 per share — ~94.3 or 3.92 per cent higher than its previous close.

Monday’s rally was led by metal stocks with the BSE Metal index closing two per cent higher. Shares of Tata Steel zoomed four per cent during the session while shares of Jindal Steel rallied 7.8 per cent. “China’s growth is boosting prices and demand for steel,” said Anshuman Atri, Mumbai-based vicepresident of equity research at Haitong International Securities Group.

Telecom shares were also in demand during the session after reports said Vodafone India and Aditya Birla Group firm Idea Cellular are likely to finalise their merger within a month, creating India’s largest telecom firm. The BSE Telecom index closed 1.5 per cent higher.

“Barring the FMCG index, which traded flat, all other sectoral indices on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) traded in the green, with the metals index gaining two per cent," said Karthikraj Lakshmanan, senior fund manager– Equities, BNP Paribas Mutual Fund.

Sentiment also got a boost after the GST Council at its meeting on Saturday approved a law to compensate states for any loss of revenue from implementation of the goods and services tax (GST), brightening prospects for a timely roll-out of GST.

Globally, most Asian market rose while investors awaited further details from US President Donald Trump on his economic policies, including tax reforms. Japan's Nikkei rose 0.09 per cent, Shanghai Composite gained 1.18 per cent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng increased 0.47 per cent.