Sensex rises by 314 pts on rebound in IT & FMCG stocks, US Fed rate cut hopes

MUMBAI: Benchmark Sensex rose by 314 points and Nifty closed above 24,850 on Tuesday following a rebound in IT and FMCG shares and hopes of a rate cut by the US Federal Reserve later this month.

Rising for the second day in a row, the 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 314.02 points or 0.39 per cent to settle at 81,101.32. During the day, it surged 394.07 points or 0.48 per cent to 81,181.37.

Rising for the fifth consecutive day, the 50-share NSE Nifty rose by 95.45 points or 0.39 per cent to 24,868.60.

Among Sensex firms, Infosys jumped 5.03 per cent after India's second-largest IT services company said its board will consider a proposal for buyback of equity shares on September 11.

Tech Mahindra, Adani Ports, HCL Tech, Tata Consultancy Services, Sun Pharma, HUL, ITC and Bajaj Finserv were also among the gainers.

However, Trent, Eternal, UltraTech Cement and NTPC were among the laggards.

"Markets closed higher on Tuesday, buoyed by strength in IT stocks following Infosys' announcement that its board will consider a share buyback on September 11. The news lifted sector sentiment," Hariprasad K, Research Analyst and Founder - Livelong Wealth, said.

"The markets closed on a positive note following a sharp rally in IT sector stocks. Investor sentiment turned distinctly positive in IT, which emerged as the day's clear outperformer. The rally was led by Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Wipro, and HCLTech, after Infosys announced a board meeting to consider a share buyback. This domestic trigger, coupled with global optimism around a potential US Fed rate cut following weak US jobs data, lifted risk appetite," Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth tech firm, said.

The BSE smallcap gauge edged higher by 0.22 per cent and midcap index went up by 0.20 per cent.

Among sectoral indices, BSE Focused IT jumped 2.89 per cent, IT surged 2.76 per cent, while teck (2.18 per cent), healthcare (0.67 per cent) and FMCG (0.54 per cent) also gained.

Oil & Gas, realty, energy, consumer discretionary, auto and power were the laggards.

"Conversely, auto stocks came under pressure due to profit booking after recent gains on GST rationalisation. The market sentiment is likely to remain range-bound amid lingering uncertainties over global trade negotiations," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments, Ltd said.

In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi and Hong Kong's Hang Seng settled in positive territory while Japan's Nikkei 225 index and Shanghai's SSE Composite index ended lower.

European markets were trading on a mixed note. US markets ended higher on Monday.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 2,170.35 crore on Monday, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought stocks worth Rs 3,014.30 crore, according to exchange data.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.80 per cent to USD 66.55 a barrel.

On Monday, the Sensex edged higher by 76.54 points or 0.09 per cent to settle at 80,787.30, and the Nifty ended marginally higher by 32.15 points or 0.13 per cent at 24,773.15.