Sensex rises 363 points, Nifty crosses 15,850; Titan, M&M, RIL top gainers

Benchmark indices ended higher in the first trading session of this week, amid a positive trend in global equities. Sensex closed 363 points higher at 52,950 and Nifty surged 122 points to 15,885.

Titan was the top Sensex gainer, rising 3.25 per cent, followed by M&M, Reliance Industries, Axis Bank, TCS, Maruti and Infosys.

Tata Steel, Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Finance, Sun Pharma, Dr Reddy's and HDFC Bank were among the top Sensex losers, falling up to 1.66%.

Among 30 Sensex stocks, 21 ended in green.

BSE midcap and small cap indices closed 243 points and 285 points higher at 23,330 and 27,072, respectively.

Consumer durables stocks were the top sectoral gainers with their BSE index zooming 475 points to end at 36,861 against previous close of 36,386.

IT shares too rallied with BSE IT index ending 1.13% or 350 points higher at 31,196, respectively.

Market cap of BSE-listed firms rose to Rs 237.74 lakh crore.  

Gaurav Ratnaparkhi, Head of Technical Research, Sharekhan said, "The short-term momentum indicator is prepared for a new cycle on the upside. Hence, going ahead, Nifty is expected to enter the hurdle zone of 15,900-16,000 with a potential to surpass that. On the other hand, 15,800-15,750 will act as a near term support zone."

Market breadth was positive with 2,178 shares ending higher against 1,158 stocks closing lower on BSE. 166 stocks were unchanged.

Commenting on the technical outlook of Nifty, Shrikant Chouhan, Executive Vice President, Equity Technical Research at Kotak Securities said, "The daily intraday charts suggest the market is consolidating near the important resistance level of 15,900. The strong breakout formation is not ruled out, if the index succeeds to trade above 20 day SMA or 15,800. Above the same, the uptrend texture is likely to continue up to 15,930-15,975 levels. On the flip side, a close below 20 day SMA may increase further selling pressure till 15,745-15,700."

Meanwhile, rupee gained 8 paise to close at 74.34 against the US dollar on Monday, supported by a firm trend in domestic equities and a weak American currency.

At the interbank forex market, the local unit opened at 74.38 against the greenback and witnessed an intra-day high of 74.30 and a low of 74.43.

Global markets

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

Stock exchanges in Europe were also trading on a positive note in mid-session deals. Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude declined 1.35 per cent to $74.39 per barrel.