Sensex Gains Over 1,300 Points Led by IT, Auto Stocks On Strong US Economic Data

Mumbai, Aug 16: India’s equity indices closed higher on Friday as global markets rallied. The latest US economic data reduced recession fears in the world’s largest economy.

At the close, the Sensex rose by 1.68 percent or 1,330 points to 80,436, while the Nifty increased by 1.65 percent or 397 points to 24,541.

Sectoral and Stock Performance

Wipro, Tech Mahindra, M&M, Tata Motors, Ultratech Cement, TCS, HCL Tech, and ICICI Bank drove the Sensex gains. Sun Pharma was the sole loser on the BSE benchmark.

Midcap and smallcap stocks also saw buying. The Nifty midcap 100 index climbed 1,108 points or 1.96 percent to 57,656, and the Nifty smallcap 100 index rose 349 points or 1.93 percent to 18,436.

The market breadth favored buyers. On the BSE, 2,440 stocks advanced, 1,493 declined, and 97 remained unchanged.

Sectoral indices in auto, IT, PSU Bank, financial services, FMCG, metal, realty, service sector, and PSE emerged as major gainers.

Recent US economic data provided a boost. In July, US consumer price inflation fell to 2.9 percent, the first drop below 3 percent since March 2021. Jobless claims also decreased to 227,000, the lowest in five weeks, versus market expectations of 236,000.

The IT sector extended its rally for the fifth consecutive day, rising nearly 2.5 percent. Softer inflation strengthened the case for a Federal Reserve rate cut in September.

Market experts noted that the stability of the JPY contributed to a global market recovery. Strong US retail sales and a decline in weekly jobless claims eased recession fears. The market sentiment improved due to the drop in US CPI inflation.

Also Read: Indian Equity Indices Surge On Positive Global Sentiment