Sensex rises 258 points at 31,646.46 on global rally; Nifty above 9,800

Mumbai: The BSE Sensex rebounded by 258 points today and the NSE Nifty went past the 9,800-mark as metal and financial stocks led gains, tracking upbeat global cues on easing geopolitical tensions.

The 30-share Sensex closed at 31,646.46, showing net gain of 258.07 points or 0.82 per cent as index major RIL, ITC, HDFC, L&T and HDFC Bank advanced.

The 50-share NSE Nifty reclaimed the key 9,900-mark in day trade but profit-booking at higher levels trimmed its gains. The index settled at 9,884.40, up by 88.35 points, or 0.90 per cent.

The rally in domestic equities was largely in line with the upmove seen in global stocks on signs of easing geopolitical tensions after US President Donald Trump's measured response to North Korea missile launches.

Speculators covering up their short positions ahead of the August derivatives contract expiry tomorrow added to the gains.

Sentiment also got a boost after the GST revenue got off to a bumper start. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley yesterday said that taxes worth Rs 92,283 crore were collected in July from just 64.42 per cent of the total taxpayer base.

Tax collections are likely to go up further when all the tax payers would file returns.

In the Sensex kitty, Reliance Industries emerged top performer by surging 2.12 per cent to Rs 1,564.15, followed by Adani Ports that rose 1.94 per cent to Rs 389.65.

The Sensex had lost 362.43 points in the previous session in line with a general weakness across the globe fuelled by North Korea's missile launch over Japan.