Key Indices Drift Higher In Indecisive Mkt

Mumbai: Benchmark Sensex spurted by 454 points and Nifty closed above 23,300 on Monday following gains in banking, financial and power stocks amid firm global trends.

The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 454.11 points or 0.59 per cent to settle at 77,073.44 as its 17 components advanced and 13 declined. Intra-day, it surged 699.61 points or 0.91 per cent to 77,318.94. The NSE Nifty climbed 141.55 points or 0.61 per cent to 23,344.75 with 29 of its constituents ending higher.

“A strong positive sentiment from Asian markets bolstered domestic markets, starting the week on a healthy note. Further, a robust initial set of earnings from the banking and financial sectors triggered a broad-based rally, driven by the likelihood of improved earnings in the near future. However, uncertainties surrounding Trump’s policies continue to linger, with investors eagerly waiting for more clarity,” Vinod Nair, head (research), Geojit Financial Services.

As many as 2,503 stocks advanced while 1,557 declined and 168 remained unchanged on the BSE.

The BSE smallcap gauge jumped 0.82 per cent and midcap index climbed 0.66 per cent. Among BSE sectoral indices, telecommunication surged the most by 2.18 per cent, followed by bankex (2.03 per cent), power (1.39 per cent), financial services (1.24 per cent), utilities (1.17 per cent) and capital goods (0.96 per cent).

Among Sensex shares, Kotak Mahindra Bank jumped over 9 per cent after the firm posted a 10 per cent growth in its consolidated net profit at Rs4,701 crore, aided by the performance of capital markets-linked arms. Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, NTPC, State Bank of India, Power Grid, HDFC Bank, Tech Mahindra and Asian Paints were the other gainers. However, Zomato fell the most by 3.14 per cent after food delivery platform reported weaker-than-expected financial results for the December quarter.