Sensex recaptures 50k level

Mumbai Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty on Tuesday settled above the levels not seen in over two months as economic recovery hopes amid continuous decline in fresh Covid-19 cases further perked up investor sentiment. Recapturing the 50,000-level milestone, the BSE Sensex soared 612.60 points or 1.24 per cent to settle at 50,193.33.

This was the highest closing for the index since March 16. Likewise, the NSE Nifty went past the psychological 15,000-mark. At the closing bell, the NSE gauge quoted higher by 184.95 points or 1.24 points at 15,108.10 – the best closing since March 10. On the Sensex chart, M&M was the top gainer, rallying nearly 6 per cent, followed by Bajaj Auto, Titan, Bajaj Finance, HDFC Bank and L&T.

On the other hand, Bharti Airtel, ITC, Dr Reddy's, SBI and HUL suffered losses. Sectorally, BSE auto, industrials, consumer durables, capital goods, power and utilities indices rallied up to 3.19 per cent. Telecom and FMCG indices fell up to 1.66 per cent. In the broader market, midcap and smallcap indices outperformed the benchmark by rallying as much as 1.87 per cent. Largecap index rose 1.22 per cent "Domestic equities extended gains as early sign of decline in Covid-19 daily caseload and improving prospects of faster economic recovery emboldened investors," said Binod Modi, Head Strategy at Reliance Securities.

Additionally, strong cues from Asian markets also supported the rally in domestic market, he added. Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul ended on a positive note. Stock exchanges in Europe were also trading with gains in mid-session deals. Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.82 per cent higher at $70.03 per barrel. The Indian rupee ended 17 paise higher at 73.05 against the US dollar on Tuesday.