Gains in IT stocks offset losses in banking shares
Domestic stock markets eked out gains on Monday, rising for the eighth session in a row, tracking two-year peaks across Asian equities. The S&P BSE Sensex index jumped 396 points - or 0.98 per cent - to touch 40,905.49 at the strongest level during the session, and the broader NSE Nifty 50 benchmark climbed to as high as 12,022.05, up 107.85 points - or 0.91 per cent - from its previous close, crossing the 12,000 mark for the first time since February 24. Gains in IT stocks offset losses in banking shares, which dropped after new fiscal stimulus measures announced by the government fell short of market expectations.
The Sensex ended 84.31 points - or 0.21 per cent - higher at 40,593.80 and the Nifty settled at 11,930.95, up 16.75 points - or 0.14 per cent - from its previous close.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced plans to stimulate consumer demand, including advance payment of a part of the wages of federal government employees during the festival season.
"If you compare the advance payment of wages for government employees and loans provided to the states and measure it with GDP (gross domestic product), it is a minuscule amount," said Saurabh Jain, assistant vice president at SMC Global Securities.
The country's GDP contracted a record 23.9 per cent in the April-June period.
Analysts awaited official data on consumer inflation and factory output due after market hours for cues.
Banking and financial services stocks gave up early gains, with the Nifty Bank index - which tracks stocks of 12 major lenders in the country - ending 0.56 per cent lower.
On Friday, the Reserve Bank of India appealed to the Supreme Court to allow lenders to classify loans as non-performing assets - or bad loans, raising hopes of some relief for the battered sector. The RBI said a ban imposed to help borrowers during the COVID-19 pandemic could greatly harm the financial system.
