Positive global sentiment lifted pharma and information technology stocks on Monday. Consequently, markets ended in the positive territory.
Encouraging Chinese GDP data for April-June quarter boosted investors' sentiment as it suggested the world’s second-biggest economy may be starting to stabilise.
The S&P BSE Sensex settled 160 points, or 0.41 per cent, higher at 38,897 levels with Infosys, Sun Pharma, Tech Mahindra and Maruti being the top gainers. On the contrary, IndusInd Bank, L&T, ITC and Bharti Airtel were the top laggards. The broader Nifty50 too settled with gains of 36 points, or 0.31 per cent, at 11,588 levels.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap settled 88 points, or 0.61 per cent, lower at 14,466 levels while the S&P BSE SmallCap closed 87 points, or 0.63 per cent, lower at 13,689 levels.
Sectorally, Nifty IT was the biggest gainer, closing nearly 3 per cent higher while Nifty Pharma index closed 1 per cent up. Among the laggards, Nifty PSU banks took the biggest knock, down 2.5 per cent followed by losses in the FMCG index (down 0.59 per cent).
INFOSYS UP 7% Infosys reacted to the Q1FY20 results announced post market hours on Friday, with the stock rising over 7 per cent to close at Rs 779 levels on the National Stock Exchange (NSE). An uptick in demand for its digital services, apart from a momentum in the large deal space, prompted company to raise its FY20 revenue guidance to 8.5-10 per cent from 7.5-9.5 per cent as guided earlier.
READ HOW BROKERAGES HAVE INTERPRETED THE NUMBERS BUZZING STOCKS Shares of Allahabad Bank tanked 15 per cent to Rs 40 on the BSE on Monday's early morning trade after the state-owned lender on Saturday reported fraud of Rs 1,775 crore by Bhushan Power and Steel to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
READ MORE Shares of Dewan Housing Finance Corporation (DHFL) were locked in the lower circuit of 10 per cent at Rs 62 on the BSE on Monday after the company reported a standalone net loss of Rs 2,223 crore for the quarter ending March 2019 (Q4F19), owing to higher provisioning. The non-banking finance company had posted net profit of Rs 134 crore in the same quarter last fiscal.
READ MORE GLOBAL CUES
Asian shares advanced on Monday as monthly activity data from China suggested a flurry of stimulus measures by the country have been able to prop-up domestic activity. Shanghai and Hong Kong stock markets had ended marginally positive while South Korea's Kospi closed 0.2 per cent lower.
(With inputs from Reuters)
 "MARKET WRAP: Sensex gains 160 pts; broader markets underperform, Infy up 7%")
