Sensex ends 380 points higher amid firm global cues

Markets finished the session on a firm note as investors cheered the bigger than expected repo rate cut of 50 bps. Meanwhile, strength in the global peers further lifted the trading sentiments. 

Provisionally, the Sensex gained 380 points to close at 26,158 and the Nifty surged 105 points to end at 7,948

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(updated at 3:30 PM)

Benchmark Indices continued to march ahead in the late afternoon trades tracking rally in the global markets. The rally across the D-Street is led by index heavyweights such as Reliance Industries, Infosys and ITC.

At 2:45PM, the 30-share Sensex was up 293 points at 26,071 and the 50-share Nifty was up 82 points at 7,925

In the broader market, the BSE MidCap index was up 1.4% and the SmallCap index was up 1%. Market breadth was positive with 1552 gainers and 995 losers on the BSE.

On the currency front, the Indian rupee strengthened against the American currency following gains in local equities.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India went ahead and cut the repo rate by 50 bps yesterday, which uplifted the mood of the market players.

SECTORS & STOCKS

Sectorally, out of 12 sectors, 11 firmed up while BSE Bankex is the sole loser, down nearly 1%.   BSE Metals index was the top gainer with 2.6% gains followed by others.

Banking shares are witnessing selling pressures on account of profit booking. The RBI yesterday announced a surprise move of 50 bps cut in the repo rate, following which the banking and financial shares rallied.

SBI, HDFC twins, ICICI Bank are all down between 0.1-2.1%

Axis Bank, the country's third largest private sector lender, has reduced its base rate by 35 basis points to 9.50%. However, the stock is down by 1.4%

Metals shares have bounced back post the overnight rally in commodity prices. Tata Steel revived supply from Jharkhand captive mines to improve profits of domestic operation. The stock is up 4.5%

L&T is up 0.6%. The engineering major has emerged as the finalist for a $750-million (about Rs 5,000 crore) contract to supply 100 self-propelled artillery guns to the Indian Army.

Hero MotoCorp has gained 1.6%. The company has unveiled two scooters developed in-house on new platforms, as the company expands its presence in a segment where former partner Honda Motor is the market leader in India..

RIL has gained 2.3% after Reliance Jio Infocomm raised Rs 3,500 crore by issuing non-convertible debentures through private placement.

Shares of Idea Cellular were up over 5% at Rs 147 on the Bombay Stock Exchange after the company announced that its shareholders have approved all the items of business contained in the notice of the AGM which includes issue of non-convertible securities on private placement basis.

The IT pack is surging ahead since the central bank cut the repo rate. Infosys(3.1%), Wipro(1.6%) are up while TCS is flat.