Sensex surges 265 points to regain 26,000-level; Nifty above 7,900

Mumbai: The benchmark BSE Sensex reclaimed the 26,000-mark by surging 265 points and the NSE Nifty was above the 7,900-level in early trade on September 30 on continued buying by participants on a bigger-than-expected interest rate cut by RBI yesterday amid a rebound in global markets. The 30-share index rose by 265.94 points, or 1.03 per cent, at 26,044.60 with all sectoral indices, led by metal, realty and banking, trading higher by up to 2.12 per cent.

The gauge had rallied by 161.82 points in the previous session. Similarly, the National Stock Exchange index Nifty went past the 7,900-level by climbing 80.95 points, or 1.03 per cent, to 7,924.25. Equity brokers said sentiments turned buoyant after RBI yesterday surprised markets with a bigger-than-expected 0.50 per cent cut in repo rates to 6.75 per cent, triggering buying activity.

The central bank also hiked limit for FPI investment in government bonds to 5 per cent of the outstanding stock by March, 2018, a move that will bring in an additional Rs 1.2 lakh crore in G-Sec. Besides, a firming trend at other Asian markets influenced trading sentiments here, they said.

Among other Asian markets, Hong Kong's Hang Seng was up by 1.16 per cent, Japan's Nikkei gained 1.84 per cent, while Shanghai Composite index was trading higher by 0.49 per cent in early trade today. The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.30 per cent higher in yesterday's trade.