Sensex, Nifty Snap 3-Day Losing Streak; Realty, Metal Shares Outperform

The Indian equity benchmarks snapped their three-day losing streak on Monday on the back of a broad-based buying interest as investor sentiment got a boost from robust macro-economic data points. Strong Goods and Services Tax numbers while factory activity expanding at its quickest pace in eight months in October reversed the bearish sentiment for equities, analysts said. The Sensex rose as much as 913 points and the Nifty 50 index touched an intraday high of 17,954.10.

The Sensex ended 832 points higher at 60,138 and Nifty 50 index climbed 258 points to close at 17,930.

The country's economic activity picked up pace in October after government collected Rs 1.30 lakh crore in Goods and Services Tax (GST), the second-highest collection ever since the introduction of GST.

Meanwhile, the Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index, compiled by IHS Markit, jumped to 55.9 in October from September's 53.7, the highest since February, and remaining above the 50-level separating growth from contraction for a fourth straight month.

Buying was visible across the board as all the 15 sector gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange ended higher led by the Nifty Realty index's over 4 per cent gain. Nifty Metal, Private Bank, PSU Bank, Pharma, Financial Services, Information Technology and Bank indices also rose between 1.15-3 per cent.

Mid- and small-cap shares also witnessed buying interest as Nifty Midcap 100 index advanced nearly 2 per cent and Nifty Smallcap 100 index rose nearly 1 per cent.

Shares of Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) rallied as much as 13 per cent to hit an intraday high of Rs 130.35 as the company's September quarter profit jumped nearly 10 times to Rs 4,339 crore from Rs 436.52 crore in the same period last year.

IndusInd Bank was top Nifty gainer, the stock rose 7.52 per cent to close at Rs 1,226 after the private lender said that it has raised Rs 2,800 crore by issuing bonds on a private placement basis.

Hindalco, Bharti Airtel, HCL Technologies, Grasim Industries, Coal India, Tata Steel, Dr Reddy's Labs, Tech Mahindra, Eicher Motors, Indian Oil and JSW Steel also rose between 2.8-4.5 per cent.

On the flipside, UPL, Bajaj Finserv, Mahindra & Mahindra and Nestle India were among the notable losers.

The overall market breadth was extremely positive as 2,171 shares ended higher while 1,137 closed lower on the BSE.