Sensex jumps over 143 points, Nifty retakes 8,800 level on IMF growth upgrade for India

Adding gains for the fourth day on the trot, the Sensex jumped over 143 points and the Nifty retook the 8,800 level on Wednesday amid continuous foreign capital inflows driven by a higher growth projection for India by IMF.

Asian cues remained in a fine shape, backed by a strong conviction that US economy is on mend after a better showing of its manufacturing sector, which cheered investors.

The 30-share index was up 143.10 points, or 0.50 per cent, at 28,477.65, with all sectoral indices led by metal, realty and banking making headway.

The gauge, which rose over 91 points after a surprise 0.25 rate cut by RBI in its policy review yesterday, had gained 507.02 points in the previous three sessions. The NSE Nifty today went up 37.80 points, or 0.43 per cent, to 8,806.95.

There was a marked sense of optimism after IMF raised its growth projection for India in 2016-17 to a robust 7.6 per cent, accelerating buying activity, brokers said.

Major gainers were SBI, Tata Steel, NTPC, Hindustan Unilever, Maruti Suzuki, PowerGrid, ITC, Tata Motors, RIL, Lupin, Bharti Airtel and GAIL, rising by up to 1.45 per cent.

In the Asian region, Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.57 per cent while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng climbed 0.45 per cent in early trade today. Financial markets in China are closed today for a public holiday. The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.47 per cent lower yesterday.