Sensex rises 226 pts; Nifty ends near 16,500

Equity benchmark Sensex ended 226 points higher on Monday following gains in index heavyweights TCS, HCL Tech and Reliance Industries amid a positive trend in global markets.

After rallying over 450 points during the day, the 30-share index pared some gains to end 226.47 points or 0.41 per cent higher at 55,555.79. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty advanced 45.95 points or 0.28 per cent to 16,496.45.

HCL Tech was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising over 4 per cent, followed by TCS, Bajaj Finserv, Nestle India, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Finance and Tech Mahindra.

On the other hand, M&M, Bajaj Auto, UltraTech Cement and PowerGrid were among the laggards.

“Domestic equities remained volatile despite witnessing brisk opening today. Strong cues from global equities aided benchmark indices to witness modest recovery, which was also supported by sustained rebound in IT stocks,” said Binod Modi, Head – Strategy at Reliance Securities.

Nifty IT gained over 1.8 per cent, followed by financials recording modest gains. An improved visibility of sustained earnings growth with least volatility compared to other industries attracted investors towards IT stocks, he noted.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul ended with strong gains.

Equities in Europe were also trading on a positive note in mid-session deals.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude surged 2.95 per cent to USD 66.66 per barrel.