Sensex, Nifty Close At Record Highs; Larsen & Toubro Gains Nearly 7%

NDTV Profit Team

20 Aug 2018, 05:32 PM IST

Stock market on Monday: The Nifty IT index closed 0.9 per cent lower.

The domestic stock markets scaled fresh record closing highs on Monday. The BSE benchmark index Sensex gained 330 points to close at a record 38,278, and the NSE Nifty settled 81 points higher at 11,551. Advances in metal, infrastructure and auto stocks pushed the markets higher while gains in other Asian markets also supported the sentiment. Top gainers in the 50-scrip Nifty index were Larsen & Toubro, Tata Motors, ONGC, Tata Steel and Hindalco, closing with gains between 3 per cent and 6.7 per cent.

Metal stocks surged, with the Nifty Metal - the NSE's sectoral index comprising metal stocks - rising 2.5 per cent for the day. Welspun Corp, Nalco and Jindal Steel - settling with a gain of between 2.7 per cent and 11.9 per cent - were among the top metal gainers.

Construction major L&T rose 6.7 per cent in its biggest daily percentage gain in over two years. It said on Saturday that the board will consider a proposal for a share buyback later this week. The Nifty infrastructure index settled 2.8 per cent higher, driven by L&T.

Sentiment picked up across Asia as investors awaited developments on proposed Sino-US trade talks and the yuan rallied from alarming lows. Investors were also encouraged by news China and the US will hold lower-level trade talks this month, offering hopes of resolving an escalating tariff war.

"Both the major economies, US and China, have agreed to talk and resolve trade war issue and markets across the globe including ours gave a thumbs up to this development. At the same time, earnings season went off well on the local front, which subsided worry related to currency depreciation to some extent," said Jayant Manglik, President, Religare Broking.

Net purchases of shares by domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were at Rs 151.89 crore and foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) at Rs 147.31 crore on Friday, according to provisional data from the NSE.

However, IT stocks ended lower led by losses in Infosys. The Nifty IT index closed 0.9 per cent lower. Infosys shares closed 3 per cent lower. Infosys had said on Saturday that its board accepted the resignation of its chief financial officer MD Ranganath. He had served as the IT major's CFO for the past three years.

(With agency inputs)