Sensex hits 1075 points in a two-month high, Nifty at 11,600 mark

Mumbai: Extending gains for the second consecutive session, domestic equity benchmark BSE Sensex skyrocketed 1,075 points on Monday driven by continued euphoria over the government's tax booster.

After soaring over 1,426 points during the day, the 30-share index ended 1,075.41 points or 2.8 per cent higher at 39,090.03. The broader NSE Nifty reclaimed the 11,600 level, zooming 326 points or 2.9 per cent to settle at 11,600.20. In the previous session on Friday, the BSE barometer logged its biggest single-day jump in over a decade by surging 1,921.15 points or 5.32 per cent to 38,014.62, while the NSE Nifty zoomed 569.40 points or 5.32 per cent to end at 11,274.20. Over the past two sessions, the Sensex has gained 2,996.56 points or 8.30 per cent, while the Nifty advanced 895.40 points or 8.36 per cent.

Top gainers in the Sensex pack included Bajaj Finance, L&T, Asian Paints, ITC, Axis Bank, Kotak Bank, ICICI Bank, HDFC twins, Maruti and SBI, rallying up to 8.70 per cent. On the other hand, Infosys, RIL, Tata Motors, PowerGrid, NTPC, Bharti Airtel, Tech Mahindra, TCS and HCL Tech tanked up to 4.97 per cent.

Market continued to rally on Monday as investor sentiment remained euphoric for the second session in a row, traders said. Bulls took over Dalal Street on Friday after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman delivered a surprise cut in corporate tax rates. Announcing the latest set of measures to jump-start flagging growth, the Finance Minister slashed the base corporate tax for existing companies to 22 per cent from 30 per cent; and for new manufacturing firms, incorporated after October 1, 2019, to 15 per cent from 25 per cent.

Further, the GST Council slashed the same on hotel tariffs and some goods with a view to addressing sectoral concerns in a slowing economy. Meanwhile, the rupee was trading flat at 70.92 against US dollar. Brent crude futures fell 0.79 per cent to USD 63.77 per barrel (intra-day). Elsewhere in Asia, Hang Seng and Shanghai Composite Index ended significantly higher, while Nikkei and Kospi settled in the red. Stock exchanges in Europe were trading on a negative note in their respective early sessions.