Stock market today: Nifty50 ends above 24,600; BSE Sensex closes over 550 points up

Stock market today: Nifty50 and BSE Sensex, the Indian equity benchmark indices, rallied strongly in trade on Monday. The NSE Nifty-50 increased by 198.20 points or 0.81 per cent, concluding at 24,625.05.The BSE Sensex recovered by approximately 555 points on Monday, driven by value investments in IT, automobile and consumer durables sectors following three consecutive days of decline and robust macro-economic indicators.The 30-share Sensex advanced 554.84 points or 0.70 per cent to close at 80,364.49, with 23 components finishing higher and seven declining. The index initiated positively and subsequently reached a peak of 80,406.84, gaining 597.19 points or 0.74 per cent.Within the Sensex components, the primary gainers included Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Motors, Trent, Eternal, Asian Paints and Infosys. Conversely, Sun Pharma, ITC, Hindustan Unilever and Titan registered declines.India recorded a robust economic growth of 7.8 per cent during April-June, marking its strongest performance in five quarters, prior to US President Donald Trump's implementation of tariffs, which presently creates uncertainty for crucial exports including textiles.India's Q1 GDP growth of 7.8%, exceeding projections, has reinforced investor confidence in the economy's resilience amid global uncertainties."Expectations of GST rationalisation at the upcoming council meeting continue to bolster sentiment, supporting discretionary consumption. This optimism is particularly benefiting sectors such as auto and consumer durables," stated Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited."Markets began the week on a positive note, supported by upbeat Q1 GDP data. After an initial uptick, the Nifty traded in a range during the first half; however, renewed buying in select heavyweights pushed the index higher as the session progressed," noted Ajit Mishra – SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd.The BSE midcap index increased by 1.64 per cent whilst the smallcap index rose by 1.49 per cent.Amongst sectors, automobiles led with 2.68 per cent growth, followed by consumer durables at 2.07 per cent, consumer discretionary at 2 per cent, capital goods at 1.93 per cent, power at 1.80 per cent, metal at 1.68 per cent, BSE Focused IT at 1.65 per cent and BSE IT at 1.62 per cent.On the BSE, 2,796 stocks showed gains, while 1,391 recorded declines and 193 remained static."The fall has been sharp in past three trading sessions and a breather was expected, and hence markets witnessed a relief rally. The bounce back was also due to strong Q1 GDP numbers and optimism ahead of the GST rejig meeting later this week."However, persistent FII selling coupled with a falling rupee has made investors jittery about equity markets near to medium prospects," stated Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd.In Asian trading, whilst Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng closed positively, South Korea's Kospi and Japan's Nikkei 225 finished lower. European markets demonstrated predominantly positive trading, whilst US markets concluded lower on Friday.The international oil benchmark Brent crude increased by 0.92 per cent, reaching USD 68.10 per barrel.According to exchange data, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 8,312.66 crore, whilst Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) purchased stocks valued at Rs 11,487.64 crore on Friday.(Disclaimer: Recommendations and views on the stock market and other asset classes given by experts are their own. These opinions do not represent the views of The Times of India)