Indian equity indices opened the week on a positive note Monday, with auto shares leading the charge as the Nifty Auto index jumped 4 per cent.
BSE Sensex went up by 1,056 points, or 1.31 per cent, to close at 81,654, while the NSE Nifty 50 climbed 354 points, or 1.44 per cent, to close at 24,985.
Among industries, Nifty Auto was the top gainer with a 4 per cent increase, followed by Nifty Bank, which gained 695 points, or 1.26 per cent, to close at 56,037.15. Nifty Metal gained 1.22 per cent and Nifty FMCG and Nifty Private Bank advanced by 1.36 per cent and 1.62 per cent, respectively. The majority of other sectoral indices also closed in the green.
In the Nifty basket, Hero MotoCorp led the gainers list with a strong rise of 7.18 per cent. Maruti Suzuki, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Auto, and Mahindra & Mahindra were some other prominent gainers. On the negative side, HCL Technologies, Larsen & Toubro, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, ONGC, and TCS were the major drags.
Describing the trend in the market, Anand James, Chief Market Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, said:
"Last week's reversal efforts were bogged down in the 24670-720 area, denying Nifty a bullish confirmation. Nevertheless, 43 per cent and 39 per cent of constituents of mid- and small-cap indexes, respectively, closed above their respective 10-day SMAs, the highest since late July, indicating that a broad market reversal already is under way."
Amruta Shinde of Choice Broking further said: "Technically, a strong upmove above 24,750 can set the stage for an upside towards 24,900 and 25,000, with near-term support at 24,600 and 24,500—both being desirable ranges for new long positions."
Overseas, Asian-Pacific markets traded mostly higher Monday, following cues from a mixed Wall Street close and the result of the U.S.-Russia summit, which failed to produce a ceasefire.
On Friday, U.S. stocks dipped marginally after achieving record highs during the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 0.08 per cent, the Nasdaq dropped 0.4 per cent and the S&P 500 lost 0.29 per cent.
In Asia, Shanghai Composite in China rose 1.19 per cent, Nikkei in Japan improved 0.87 per cent, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index inched 0.36 per cent up. South Korea's Kospi was the sole laggard and fell 1.29 per cent.
Reports indicate that the U.S. trade representatives' scheduled visit to New Delhi between August 25 and August 29 is most likely to be postponed.
On Aug 14, the final day of trading prior to the holiday season, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold net, shedding equities to the tune of ₹1,926 crore. The domestic institutional investors (DIIs), though, were a support with net buys of ₹3,895 crore.
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