Sensex rallies 215 points on global cues

Mumbai - A benchmark index of Indian equities markets surged 215 points Monday on strong global clues and in anticipation of measures the government would take soon to rejuvenate the economy.

The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 17,313.05 points, closed at 17,412.96 points, 1.25 percent or 215.03 points up from its previous day's close at 17,197.93 points.

The BSE oil and gas index was up 245.89 points, followed by auto index, up 153.57 points and banking index, up 163.19 points.

The wider 50-scrip S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange closed 1.28 percent up at 5,282.55 points. Shares rose in early trade on better-than-expected payrolls data in the US and hopes of a solution to Eurozone debt crisis.

Later in the day towards closing time, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said the government would soon announce plans for fiscal consolidation and fine-tune policies to boost investor confidence. That helped equities gain traction.

The major Sensex gainers were RIL, up 5.71 percent at Rs.785.30; Tata Motors, up 3.51 percent at Rs.228.65; Gail India, up 2.49 percent at Rs.365.65; HDFC Bank, up 1.95 percent at Rs.599.75; and Tata Steel, up 1.85 percent at Rs.404.30.

The main Sensex losers were Dr Reddys Lab, down 0.86 percent at Rs.1,657.60; TCS, down 0.69 percent at Rs.1,229.40; Wipro, down 0.59 percent at Rs.344.95; NTPC, down 0.54 percent at Rs.165.40; and ITC, down 0.42 percent at Rs.258.25.

Other Asian markets closed in green. Japan's Nikkei closed 2 percent up, while the Shanghai composite index ended 1.04 percent up. Hong Kong's Hang Seng was up 1.69 percent.

At closing bell here, European markets were also in the positive zone. France's CAC and Germany's DAX were up 0.60 percent each and Britain's FTSE 100 was trading higher, up 0.21.