Sensex: Sensex rises nearly 600 points as US bond yields dip

MUMBAI: Across the board buying lifted the sensex by 595 points on Monday, its third consecutive session of gains, mainly on the back of a sharp slide in US gilt yields and a drop in crude oil prices below the $90-a-barrel mark. The sensex closed at 64,959 points. An upgrade for the Indian economy by global ratings major Fitch also helped investor sentiment, market players said.
Since late on Wednesday – when the US Federal Reserve decided to maintain status quo on interest rates in the world’s largest economy – the sensex, along with several other global indices, has been on a northward journey. In the last three sessions alone, it has gained 1,367 points or 2.2%, while investors are now richer by Rs 8 lakh crore with BSE’s market capitalisation now at Rs 321.1 lakh crore.
Market sentiment got a boost on Monday after credit agency Fitch raised India’s medium-term GDP growth estimates to 6.2% from 5.5%, said Siddhartha Khemka of Motilal Oswal Financial Services. “We expect the market to remain positive over the next few days ahead of Diwali,” Khemka said.
In Monday’s session, ICICI Bank, L&T and HDFC Bank contributed the most to the sensex’s rise while selling in SBI and HUL limited the gains partially, BSE data showed. The day’s gains came despite a Rs 549-crore net selling by foreign funds.