Sensex Rises Over 300 Points; Tata Steel, HDFC Bank Top Gainers

The domestic stock markets are firm in the afternoon session on the back of positive global cues. At 2:20 pm, the Sensex was trading at 52,843.63, higher by 361.25 points or 0.68 per cent and Nifty was at 15,825.15, up 102.70 points or 0.65 per cent. The broader markets are also in the green, with the BSE Midcap and BSE Smallcap indices gaining 0.2 per cent and 0.8 per cent respectively.

In the currency markets, the rupee strengthened by 26 paise to 74.48 against the US dollar on Monday, tracking a firm trend in the equity markets. At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 74.51 against the dollar and inched higher to 74.48, registering a gain of 26 paise over its previous close.

On the IPO front, India Pesticides made a strong debut on the bourses. The shares of the agrochemicals company listed at Rs 360, a premium of 21.62 per cent on the BSE against the issue price of Rs 296 and on the NSE, the shares listed at Rs 356.20, a premium of 20.34 per cent.

On the stock-specific front, Tata Steel has soared by more than 1 per cent to top the gainers list on the BSE. Financial stocks are also witnessing buying interest, with HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finance, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Bajaj Finserv rising around a per cent each.

On the other hand, select IT and pharma stocks are trading weak. In the IT space, Tech Mahindra, TCS and HCL Tech are trading lower by upto a per cent each. And in the pharma space, Dr Reddy's and Sun Pharma have lost around half a per cent each.

The BSE market breadth is strong. Out of 3459 stocks traded on the BSE, there are 2,198 advancing stocks as against 1,099 declines.