NEW DELHI: The S&P Sensex surged over 250 points in trade on Thursday supported by gains observed across major Asian peers.The 50-share Nifty index also managed to reclaim its crucial psychological level of 8400.The gains were led by index heavyweights such as Infosys, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Bharti Airtel and Axis Bank.The overall market breadth was positive, with seven out of every 10 BSE stocks quoting with a positive bias.

The S&P BSE Midcap Index was up 0.75 per cent and BSE S&P Smallcap Index edged higher by 0.65 per cent.The market sentiment was boosted by the consumer inflation and industrial output data that were released on Wednesday evening. The positive numbers brough a cheer amid gloom over the parliamentary logjam halting the goods and services tax bill and markets getting rocked by the yuan devaluation. Inflation based on the consumer price index ( CPI) fell sharply in July to its lowest in the current series, strengthening the case for an interest rate cut soon, while the index of industrial production ( IIP) climbed to a four-month high, adding to the evidence that growth gathering pace.

The data released showed better-than-expected industrial growth of 3.8 per cent in June on the back of rising consumer goods production, suggesting improved consumer sentiment. Consumer inflation slowed more than expected to 3.78 per cent in July, well below 5.4 per cent in June and the Reserve Bank of India’s January 2016 target of 6 per cent.During trading hours, telecom stocks climbed up to 4 per cent in trade on Thursday after the Cabinet approved the much-awaited guidelines on spectrum sharing that experts believe may lead to better spectrum utilisation and result in lower industry capex requirement.

Snapping a six-day losing streak, rupee appreciated 12 paise to 64.65 against the US dollar in trade on Thursday. The domestic currency had dropped 59 paise on Wednesday, settling the session at nearly two-year low of 64.78 against the greenback.
Major Asian markets were trading flat with a positive bias. China’s Shanghai Composite and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng were trading flat with a negative bias, Japan’s Nikkei was up 0.42 per cent. Meanwhile, South Korea’s Kospi gained nearly 0.4 per cent and Singapore Strait Times rose over a per cent.

Source : http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/sensex-up-over-250-points-nifty-reclaims-8400-dlf-up-4-union-bank-4-telecom-stocks-gain/articleshow/48461926.cms