Stock markets climb for 2nd day on buying in IT stocks

MUMBAI: Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty rallied for a second straight session on Monday following buying in index heavyweight IT counters and Reliance Industries amid optimism in Asian markets.

The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 234 points or 0.38 per cent to settle at 61,963.68. During the day, it jumped 314.78 points or 0.50 per cent to 62,044.46.

The NSE Nifty rallied 111 points or 0.61 per cent to end at 18,314.40.

Among the Sensex firms, Tech Mahindra, Wipro, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, HCL Technologies, Larsen & Toubro, ITC, Sun Pharma, NTPC and Titan were the major gainers.

Nestle, Axis Bank, Tata Motors, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Bharti Airtel were the laggards.

All the ten listed Adani group stocks ended with significant gains as a Supreme Court-appointed expert committee said it has found no evidence of stock price manipulation in group companies, while a separate Sebi probe into alleged violation in money flows from offshore entities has "drawn a blank".

Adani Enterprises zoomed 18.84 per cent and Adani Wilmar jumped 10 per cent, the biggest gainers among the ten listed group firms.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong ended in the positive territory. Markets in Europe were trading on a mixed note. The US market had ended marginally lower on Friday.

"The domestic market inched higher in anticipation of possible progress in US debt ceiling negotiations. Despite a weak fourth-quarter performance, IT stocks rebounded on account of bargain opportunities and pent-up demand. Investors remain watchful ahead of the release of US FOMC minutes on Wednesday, as the minutes may give some indication of a pause on rate hikes," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

Meanwhile, global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.03 per cent to USD 75.60 per barrel.

The Sensex climbed 297.94 points or 0.48 per cent to settle at 61,729.68 on Friday. The Nifty advanced 73.45 points or 0.41 per cent to end at 18,203.40.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 113.46 crore on Friday after remaining buyers for a number of days, according to exchange data.