Sensex surges 517 points after Fed hints at delaying rate hike

Mumbai: The benchmark BSE Sensex on August 27 staged a strong comeback and jumped 517 points -- its biggest single- day jump in two weeks -- to reclaim the 26,000-mark on gains in healthcare and realty stocks after the US Fed said a case for rate hike in September was now "less compelling".

The broader NSE Nifty too surged by 157 points to reclaim the 7,900-mark. Traders said covering-up of short positions on expiry of August month series in the derivative contracts at the end of session, also helped. Globally, Asian markets ended higher following a overnight surge on the Wall Street.

New York Fed President William Dudley yesterday said that the prospect of a September rate hike "seems less compelling" than it was only weeks ago. The comments came in the backdrop of a massive two-day sell-off in global markets.

Following bullish global cues, the 30-share Sensex scaled the day's high of 26,302.77, before ending at 26,231.19, a gain of 516.53 or 2.01 per cent its biggest single-session gain since August 14.

In 26 August’s trade the gauge had lost 317.72 points. The rupee recovering against the American unit also boosted sentiment. The 50-share NSE Nifty after regaining 7,900-level, further rose to a session's high of 7,963.60, before settling 157.10 points or 2.02 per cent higher at 7,948.95.

The recovery in Sensex was supported by gains in HDFC (8.41 pc), Vedanta (6.55 pc), Tata Steel (4.80 pc), Lupin (4.79 pc), Cipla (3.95 pc) and Sun Pharma (3.44 pc). Among BSE sectoral indices, consumer durable gained the most by surging 5.11 per cent, followed by realty 4.02 per cent, healthcare 2.93 per cent and oil&gas 2.83 per cent.

The broader markets also performed well on buying by retail investors. The BSE small-cap and the mid-cap indices surged by 2.56 per cent and 2.49 per cent, respectively. Shares in other Asian counties ended mostly in the green with Shanghai index rising up to 5.34 per cent. European equities were also higher in their early trade.