Higher European and Asian indices along with a strengthened rupee lifted the Indian equity markets on Monday.The wider 51-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) gained 98.55 points or 1.08 per cent to 9,217.95 points.The barometer 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange closed higher by 290.54 points or 0.99 per cent. After opening at 29,407.68 points, it closed at 29,655.84 points -- up from its previous close at 29,365.30 points.The Sensex touched a high of 29,681.33 points and a low of 29,382.99 points during the intra-day trade."Markets rallied sharply on Monday with the Nifty crossing the immediate resistances of 9,184 points," Deepak Jasani, Head - Retail Research, HDFC Securities, told IANS.According to Jasani, Indian markets rallied in tandem with global markets after centrist Emmanuel Macron pulled in the highest number of votes among candidates in the first round of the French presidential election on Sunday.
"Major Asian markets have ended on a positive note, barring the Shanghai index. European indices like FTSE 100, DAX and CAC 40 traded higher," Jasani added.On the currency front, the Indian rupee appreciated by 16 paise to 64.44-45 per US dollar from its previous close of 64.61 to a greenback."Appreciation of Indian rupee against US dollar and strong European cues supported the firmness in the Indian equity markets," said Dhruv Desai, Director and Chief Operating Officer of Tradebulls.In terms of investments, provisional data with the exchanges showed that the foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold scrip worth Rs 279.55 crore, while the domestic institutional investors (DIIs) purchased stocks worth Rs 984.17 crore.
"Markets gave a thumbs up first round development in French elections, while gold's turn lower also underscored that risk appetite was returning," said Anand James, Chief Market Strategist at Geojit Financial Services."Investors will now look forward to Trump's announcement on corporate taxes, and any rally global equities could boost sentiments on the local bourses."Sector-wise, the S&P BSE capital goods index augmented by 289.75 points, followed by the automobile index, which gained by 260.60 points, and the oil and gas index, which was higher by 102.30 points.In contrast, the healthcare index dipped by 65.84 points."Banking sector stocks witnessed strong buying throughout the session. Along with realty sector, IT remained top performing sectors on positive side," Desai said.