Sensex, Nifty surge neraly 2% powered by rally in Reliance, firm Asian market

Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty rebounded sharply on Monday, surging nearly 2 per cent, on heavy buying in Reliance Industries and a rally in Asian markets.

The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 1,240.90 points or 1.76 per cent to settle at 71,941.57. During the day, it soared 1,309.55 points or 1.85 per cent to 72,010.22.

The Nifty climbed 385 points or 1.80 per cent to 21,737.60.

Among the Sensex firms, Reliance Industries jumped nearly 7 per cent, contributing the most to the rally in markets.

Tata Motors, Power Grid, Larsen and Toubro, Kotak Mahindra Bank, NTPC, Titan and UltraTech Cement were the other major gainers.

ITC, Infosys, JSW Steel, Tech Mahindra and Tata Consultancy Services were the laggards.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo and Hong Kong settled in the positive territory while Shanghai ended lower.

European markets were trading mostly lower. The US markets had ended on a mixed note on Friday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 0.18 per cent to $83.40 a barrel.

Markets were closed on Friday on account of Republic Day.

On Thursday, the BSE benchmark declined 359.64 points or 0.51 per cent to settle at 70,700.67 points while the Nifty fell 101.35 points or 0.47 per cent to 21,352.60 points.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 2,144.06 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.

Rupee down

The rupee depreciated 3 paise to 83.14 (provisional) against the US dollar on Monday, as rising crude oil prices in international markets and dollar demand from importers dented investor sentiments.

Forex traders said the rupee traded in a narrow range as the support from positive domestic equities was offset by persistent foreign fund outflows.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at 83.14 against the US dollar. During the day, it witnessed an intraday high of 83.13 and a low of 83.15 against the American currency.

The local unit finally settled at 83.14 (provisional) against the dollar, down by 3 paise from its previous close.

On Thursday, the rupee rose 1 paisa in a range-bound trade to close at 83.11 against the US dollar.

Forex market was closed on Friday on account of Republic Day.

"The Indian rupee traded in a narrow range amid higher crude oil prices as the risk sentiment improved ahead of the Federal Reserve policy decision later this week. The geopolitical uncertainty and Fed stance on rate cuts will decide the direction of forex markets," said Dilip Parmar, Research Analyst, HDFC Securities.

Parmar added that the spot USD/INR is likely to float above 83 before the Fed decision. In the near term, the pair is expected to oscillate between 82.90 to 83.30.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.12 per cent to 103.55.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, declined 0.18 per cent to $83.40 a barrel. .

Meanwhile, India's forex reserves jumped $1.634 billion to $ 618.937 billion for the week ended January 12, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said on Friday.

Brent crude weak

Crude oil prices on Monday increased Rs 140 to Rs 6,521 per barrel in futures trade as participants widened their positions following a firm spot demand.

On the Multi Commodity Exchange, crude oil for February delivery traded higher by Rs 140, or 2.19 per cent, at Rs 6,521 per barrel in 11,890 lots.

Analysts said raising of bets by participants kept crude oil prices higher in futures trade.

Globally, West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up by 0.58 per cent to $78.46 per barrel, and Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, declined 0.18 per cent to $83.40 a barrel. .