Sensex rallies by over 500 points; Bank Nifty gains by nearly 3 per cent

Concluding yet another trading session in a positive territory, Nifty gained by 168.55 points or 1.72 per cent to settle at 9,994.70 while Sensex climbed by 522.01 points or 1.57 per cent to reach the level of 33,825.53.

There was surge in the markets despite the mark down of India's long-term sovereign rating by one notch from 'Baa2' to 'Baa3' by Moody's, a well-known rating agency. Along with the reassurance provided by Prime Minister Narendra Modi towards positive growth and recovery of the Indian economy, strong global cues also boosted investor sentiments. Asian indices such as Shanghai, Nikkei and Hang Seng rallied by 0.20 per cent, 1.19 per cent and 1.11 per cent respectively while European indices such as FTSE 100, CAC 40 and Dax were seen trading in green, up by 1.10 per cent, 1.97 per cent and 3.68 per cent respectively, riding the hope of stimulus wave. Additionally, a rise in oil prices was witnessed, based on the expectation of major oil producers agreeing to extend oil output cuts, after giving consideration to the low demand contrasted with high inventory levels.

Sensex gainers included majority of banking and financial stocks such as Bajaj Finance surging by 8.33 per cent, Kotak Mahindra Bank rallying by 7.56 per cent, IndusInd Bank gaining by 6.74 per cent, Axis Bank increasing by 4.47 per cent, Power Grid rising by 3.46 per cent, L&T increasing by 1.76 per cent, HDFC twins also increasing with HDFC gaining by 4.56 per cent while HDFC Bank rose by 1.78 per cent, etc.

Sensex top laggards consisted of Maruti Suzuki declining by 1.74 per cent, ITC which fell by 1.69 per cent, NTPC declining by 1.07 per cent, Nestle India which fell by 0.95 per cent, Bharti Airtel decreasing by 0.19 per cent and Hero MotoCorp which fell by 0.10 per cent.

Amongst the BSE sectoral indices, Realty increased by 4.57 per cent followed by Bankex and Finance gaining by 3.25 per cent and 3.12 per cent respectively. The only BSE sectoral index which fell was FMCG index, declining by 0.54 per cent. Other indices such as BSE small-cap and BSE mid-cap increased by 1.83 per cent and 1.20 per cent respectively. Bank Nifty which represents the 12 most liquid and large capitalised stocks from the banking sector trading on NSE, gained by 2.86 per cent in today's trading session.