Strong buying interest in banking and energy stocks pushed the markets higher
Domestic stock markets jumped on Tuesday led by strong buying interest in banking and energy stocks, amid gains in global equities as investors looked past broader worries about rising COVID-19 cases. The S&P BSE Sensex index rose 1.43 per cent - or 526.87 points - to touch 37,466.47 at the strongest level recorded in the first half of the session, and the broader NSE Nifty 50 benchmark climbed to as high as 11,037.60, up 146 points from its previous close.
At 11:08 am, the Sensex traded 482.74 points - or 1.31 per cent - higher at 37,422.34, while the Nifty was up 127.90 points - or 1.17 per cent - at 11,019.50.
In the 50-scrip Nifty basket, 30 stocks traded higher at the time. Zee Entertainment, HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries, Hero MotoCorp and Maruti Suzuki India, trading between 2.36 per cent and 5 per cent higher, were the top percentage gainers in the index.
On the other hand, IndusInd Bank, Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech, Infosys and Tata Steel, down between 1.23 per cent and 2.59 per cent lower, were the top Nifty losers.
Shares in heavyweight HDFC Bank jumped as much as 5.78 per cent to Rs 1,059.90 apiece on the BSE, after the country's largest lender by market value said the RBI had allowed it to appoint Sashidhar Jagdishan as new CEO to succeed Aditya Puri.
Analysts awaited the Reserve Bank of India's policy statement due later this week for cues. The central bank is scheduled to start a three-day review on Tuesday.
Shares elsewhere in Asia moved higher following overnight gains on Wall Street amid strong US manufacturing data and strength in tech stocks. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was last seen trading 0.84 per cent higher, while Japan's Nikkei 225 benchmark was up 1.38 per cent.
China's Shanghai Composite, Hong Kong's Hang Seng and South Korea's KOSPI indices were up 0.09 per cent, 0.89 per cent and 1.07 per cent respectively. Australian stocks jumped 2 per cent for the biggest intraday gain since July 21.
An industry gauge released overnight indicated US manufacturing activity expanded in July at the fastest pace in more than a year, helping the Wall Street move higher. However, some investors remain cautious due to worries about a resurgence of the coronavirus and a diplomatic tussle over Chinese tech companies' operations in the US.
The E-Mini S&P 500 futures were last seen trading 0.05 per cent lower, indicating a flat start for Wall Street on Tuesday, a day after the S&P 500 benchmark settled 0.72 per cent higher, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.89 per and the technology-stocks heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed up 1.47 per cent to register a record closing high.
Microsoft shares jumped 5.6 per cent after the technology major formally declared interest in buying the US operations of TikTok, a video-sharing app owned by Chinese tech company ByteDance.
US President Donald Trump has warned of banning TikTok unless its US operations are sold off from ByteDance. Washington is also preparing to take action against other Chinese software companies that could share user data with Beijing, setting the stage for further conflict.
