Sensex Rallies 420 Points Led By Gains In Infosys

Mumbai, July 16: Equity benchmark Sensex Thursday rallied 420 points, led by stellar gains in Infosys, even as global markets faced selling pressure amid spiking COVID-19 cases.

After a highly volatile session, the 30-share BSE Sensex settled 419.87 points, or 1.16 per cent, higher at 36,471.68.

The NSE Nifty surged 121.75 points, or 1.15 per cent, to 10,739.95 level. 

Infosys rallied around 10 per cent after the IT major posted 12.4 per cent rise in the first quarter consolidated net profit to Rs 4,272 crore, mainly helped by large deals. It said its FY21 revenue is likely to grow by up to two per cent.

M&M, Nestle India, IndusInd Bank, Kotak Bank, HCL Tech and Axis Bank were among the gainers.

On the other hand, Tech Mahindra, ITC, NPTC, PowerGrid, Titan and ONGC finished with losses.

According to traders, rally in IT stocks led by Infosys kept investor sentiment positive, but massive sell-off in Chinese stocks and concerns over recovery amid rising COVID-19 cases induced volatility in the session.

Following negative cues from Chinese equities, benchmarks in Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul ended on a weak note. China's gross domestic product (GDP) expanded 3.2 per cent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2020, the country's National Bureau of Statistics said earlier in the day. 

Bourses in Shanghai plunged 4.50 per cent as investors seemed disappointed with the pace of economic recovery. Stock exchanges in Europe were also trading in red in early deals.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude futures fell 0.71 per cent to US dollar 43.48 per barrel. Rupee in the forex market settled three paise lower at 75.18 against the US dollar.