Sensex zooms over 600 points; Nifty reclaims 7,100-mark

Zee Media Bureau

Market benchmark Sensex zoomed over 600 points to rise above 23,500-mark in afternoon trade Monday following widespread gains as investors widened their bets amid a firming trend in other Asian markets.

The 30-share index last quoted up by 577.97 points or 2.51 percent to 23,564.09 after moving in range of  23,622.64 - 23,197.67. 

The NSE Nifty reclaimed the 7,100-mark by climbing 182.85 points, or 2.62 percent, at 7,163.80.

Brokers said a flurry of buying by investors in blue-chips available at an attractive levels amid a firming trend at other Asian markets, tracking weakened gains at the US markets, mainly influenced the sentiment.

Meanwhile, industrial production declined for the second month in a row, registering negative growth of 1.3 percent in December, while retail inflation in January rises marginally to 5.69 percent from 5.61 percent in December.

Among other Asian markets,  Hong Kong was up three percent percent in late trade, with HSBC rising four percent after saying it would remain headquartered in Britain, rejecting a move to Hong Kong, despite concerns about increased regulation in the UK and a possible split from the EU.

Sydney gained 1.6 percent and Seoul 1.5 percent. Singapore piled on 2.7 percent. Shanghai ended 0.6 percent off. However, the losses were limited considering traders were playing catch-up with last week`s bloodbath across world markets and after data showed exports tumbled 6.6 percent year-on-year and imports plunged 14.4 percent.

The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 2 percent higher on Friday.

With Agency Inputs