Sensex rises 70 points, Nifty tops 12,100; IT stocks gain

NEW DELHI: Domestic equity indices opened higher on Monday, following its gains on Friday after the US agreed to a trade deal and uncertainty over Brexit cleared as Boris Johnson secured another term.

US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer on Sunday said a deal was "totally done", notwithstanding some needed revisions, and would nearly double U.S. exports to China over the next two years.

BSE benchmark Sensex was up 68 points at 41,078 around 9.35 am while its NSE counterpart Nifty gained 18 points to 12,104. Broader market indices were also trading with gains as Nifty Midcap added 0.12 per cent to 16,952 and Nifty Smallcap advanced 0.30 per cent to 5,669. Nifty 500 was up 0.15 per cent to 9,798.



Most sectoral indices were also up with Nifty IT being the biggest gainer, advancing 0.92 per cent to 15,340. HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra, Mindtree and Hexaware were up 1 per cent each. FMCG, pharma and PSU bank indices were trading in the red.

In the 30-share pack Sensex, Kotak Mahindra Bank was the biggest gainer, up 1.95 per cent at Rs 1,725 while IT names HCL Tech and Tech Mahindra followed suit. Sun Pharma was the biggest loser, down 1.72 per cent at Rs 431.10.

Asian shares moved higher on Monday as investors welcomed a trade agreement between Beijing and Washington over the weekend, but enthusiasm was capped by lingering scepticism about the deal and ongoing relations between China and the United States.

That helped push the MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan, which had touched its highest level since April 24 on Friday, up 0.27 per cent.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 led the way as it jumped 1.24 per cent, while shares in Taiwan and South Korea added about 0.1 per cent.

But Chinese investors had a more tepid reaction, pulling the benchmark Shanghai Composite index down 0.16 per cent as investors took profits following a 1.8 per cent gain on Friday.