A softening of military posturing

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between the US and North Korea today came as music to the ears

of investors, with the Sensex rallying 322 points, as domestic

players pressed on with more buying.

Today's rally is the single-biggest gain in more than a

month. This is also the second straight day when both markets

closed in the green, supported by an across the board rally.

Risk appetite made a comeback and stayed on for the

better part of the day, thanks to positive leads from Europe,

before the release of the latest Federal Reserve minutes and

British unemployment data.

Consumer goods companies were on a roll on value-buying,

recouping their recent losses sparked by worries over the

impact of the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

But there was a dose of caution as both retail and

wholesale inflation rose sharply in July.

The 30-share Sensex zoomed 321.86 points, or 1.02 per

cent, to close at 31,770.89, its highest closing since August

9, when it had closed at 31,797.84. Intra-day, the gauge

shuttled between 31,805.99 and 31,399.35.

The NSE 50-share Nifty, which again went past the 9,900-

mark to touch a high of 9,903.95 intra-day, settled at

9,897.30, up 103.15 points, or 1.05 per cent.

Broader markets such as small-cap and mid-cap indices

surged up to 1.31 per cent, outsmarting the benchmarks.

Stock exchanges were shut yesterday for Independence Day.

"GST rate revision potential has given the much needed

diversion that market needed especially for FMCG stocks, while

it also helped that global risk appetite was seen improving

after North Korean impasse softened. RBI minutes will now give

some insight on the panel s thinking on inflation

expectation," said Anand James, Chief Market Strategist,

Geojit Financial Services.

The rally was fuelled by domestic institutional investors

(DIIs) who net bought shares worth Rs 1,619.17 crore,

provisional data showed. Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs)

net sold shares worth Rs 1,638.83 crore on Monday.

Asian indices did not give a clear trend as a few ended

with losses.

Tata Motors was the big gainer from the Sensex pack, up

3.57 per cent. Cipla, ITC, Hindustan Unilever, Sun Pharma too

made merry.

FMCG was the star sector with a gain of 2.49 per cent

followed by metal, auto, banking and healthcare. However,

infrastructure and capital goods lost their way and slumped.

 

(This article has not been edited by Zeebiz editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)