Sensex rises over 550 points, Nifty above 10,400 mark

The domestic indices continue to trade around 1% higher on Monday, mirroring gains in their key Asian counterparts.

The S&P BSE Sensex surged 565 points to hit 33,872 in afternoon trade on Monday, ahead of inflation and industrial production data scheduled to be released later in the day. The broader Nifty 50 rose as much as 182 points to touch an intraday high of 10,409. 

FMCG, IT, Teck, oil & gas, metal, capital goods, banks and auto counters saw heavy buying activity ahead of key IIP and inflation numbers, to be released after market hours today.

Bharti Airtel, ITC, Tata Motors, Infosys, NTPC were among the top gainers, rising up to 3.59 per cent.

A firm trend in other Asian markets and higher opening in European bourses, following a good show by Wall Street on Friday, lifted investors' mood in domestic markets.

In the global markets, a relief rally swept across Asian share markets on Monday after the latest US jobs report managed to impress with its strength while also easing fears of inflation and faster rate hikes, a neat feat that whetted risk appetites globally. 

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan climbed 1.1 per cent, for a third session of gains. Japan’s Nikkei jumped 1.5 per cent, showing little immediate reaction as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe came under renewed fire over suspicions of cronyism involving the sale of state-owned land.

Brokers said fresh buying by investors ahead of inflation data improved the market sentiment.

The government will announce inflation data based on consumer price index (CPI) and industrial production data after market hours today.

Inflation worries faded on Friday after US data showed nonfarm payrolls jumped by 313,000 jobs last month, but annual growth in average hourly earnings slowed to 2.6 per cent after a spike in January.

Back home, the Nifty FMCG index was trading over 2% higher on Monday, led by a rise in the shares of United Spirits, ITC and Tata Global Beverages, while the Nifty IT index was up 1.5% as KPIT Technologies and HCL Technologies gained ground. 

(With inputs from Agencies)