Indian equities extended their last week rally on Tuesday on the back of receding hopes of the United States Fed hiking interest rates this month in the wake of weak U.S. jobs data. The news lifted market sentiments as foreign institutional investors (FIIs) ended up with net purchases of equities worth almost Rs. 1,500 crore.
The BSE Sensex hit a new 52-week high of 29,013.40 before closing at 28,978, a gain of 446 points, or 1.56 per cent. The 30-scrip index is now 1,046 away from its all-time high of 30,024 scaled on March 3 last year. The broader 50-scrip NSE Nifty rose to an almost 18-month high and closed at 8,943, up 133 points, or 1.51 per cent.
"The NSE Nifty is likely to surpass the 9,000 mark in the next few trading sessions with the bulls remaining fully in control," brokerage Dynamic Levels said in a note after market hours.
"Banking stocks were the toast of the day, even as stalwarts like Axis Bank, Yes Bank, ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank and SBI propelled the banking space to new found jubilation at its six month high," it added.
Tata Motors, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, Tata Steel and Maruti Suzuki led the Sensex rally, while the NSE Nifty was spearheaded by some of the above-named companies in addition to Yes Bank.
Sectoral indices on the BSE gained in tandem, with the BSE Bankex closing 2.96 per cent higher while the BSE Auto index ended 2.83 per cent up from its Friday close.
Top losers on the BSE included Jubiliant Food, Inox Wind and Mindtree.
FIIs were net buyers of Indian stocks worth Rs. 1,438 crore, according to provisional data published by the National Stock Exchange (NSE).
Globally, European stocks rallied on the back of a jump in Asian equities.
