Sensex up 155 points; Nifty reclaims 9,900-mark

Mumbai: Stock market heaved a sigh of relief on Monday after a diplomatic breakthrough on Indo-China border stand-off that saw the Sensex rallying 155 points to extend gains for the fourth session amid firm global indices.

A large part of the show is driven by IT, FMCG, auto and pharma stocks. The Nifty was back on top of the key 9,900 on gains in Infosys, Sun Pharma and Hindustan Unilever.

India and China have agreed to "expeditious disengagement" of border personnel at Dokalam, New Delhi said today, a week before the BRICS summit in China that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to attend.

Domestic investors continued to play sheet-anchor with their buying push as the 30-share Sensex ended at 31,750.82, up 154.76, points -- 0.49 per cent. The gauge had gained 337.21 points in the previous three sessions.

The NSE Nifty ended higher 55.75 points, or 0.57 percent, at 9,912.80 after moving between 9,925.75 and 9,882.

Dalal Street continued to stay positive about the appointment of Aadhaar architect Nandan Nilekani as Infosys' new chairman. This clearly showed in the stock, which was the biggest Sensex gainer with a jump of 3.14 percent at Rs 941.15.

"Market praised the calmness at the border due to an end to the military stand-off. Additionally, relief rally on IT major with a scope of stability returning to the management also supported the market," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services. "The impact of Hurricane Harvey in the US and less hawkish speech by Fed chair at Jackson Hole have given a ripple effect to the global market."

The rupee brought more good news as it appreciated further against the dollar, traders said. A better closing at most Asian markets added to positivity. European markets were down at the open.

Buying was widespread, mainly in consumer durables, IT, technology, FMCG, power and capital goods, realty, PSUs and healthcare stocks.

Other big gainers that supported the rally included NTPC, Sun Pharma, Hero MotoCorp, Hindustan Unilever and Adani Ports, gaining by up to 2.10 percent.

Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) net purchased shares worth Rs 1,044.38 crore. Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) remained in exit mode, diluting exposure worth a net Rs 696.93 crore last Thursday, according to provisional data.

In broader markets, the small-cap index went up 1.09 percent and mid-cap 1.02 percent.