Sensex gains 242 points to end above 25,700 led by IT

Markets rebounded on Monday to end higher amid a late surge led by IT shares after upbeat US economic data last week indicated improving business environment in the world's largest economy.

Gross Domestic Product in the US grew 4% in the second quarter (April-June 2014) compared with expectations of just above 3% and marked improvement over the first quarter which had contracted a revised 2.1% on account of bad weather conditions.In the broader market, the BSE Mid-cap index was up nearly 0.6% and the Small-cap index was up 1%.

The Sensex was up 242 points at 25,723 and the Nifty gained 81 points to close at 7,684.

In the broader markets, the smallcapand midcap indices were up 1% each, almost in line with the benchmark index.

The Indian rupee continued to trade above Rs 61 at Rs 61.09 after the dollar weakened against most Asian currencies. Further, rebound in equities also aided sentiment.

Sectors & Stocks

Except Health Care index which was down 0.1%, all the other sectoral indices closed in green with gains of atleast 0.7%.

Consumer Durables, IT, Capital Goods and Power indices were the top gainers, up 1.5-3.2%.

IT shares firmed up on the back of upbeat US economic data as they earn most of their revenues from exports to the US. Infosys was up nearly 3.6%, Wipro gained 2.5% and TCS was up 0.4%.

Larsen & Toubro which had corrected last week post its June quarter earnings also witnessed buying at lower levels and were up 1.4%.

Auto shares rallied on the back of upbeat sales growth in the month of July. Tata Motors was up 1.5%, M&M gained 1% while Maruti Suzuki and Bajaj Auto gained 2-3%.

Other Sensex gainers include Hindalco, Sesa Sterlite, BHEL, ONGC and Tata Power up 1.5-4%.

Among other stocks, Sudarshan Chemical Industries zoomed 20% to Rs 1,012 after the company announced that the board will consider maiden bonus issue and stock split of face value of equity shares from Rs 10 to lower denominations.

La Opala RG rallied 9% to Rs 1,348, extending its 10% gain in past three trading sessions on BSE, after the company said its board approved to issue 0.5 million shares representing 4.74% stake to private equity (PE) firm WestBridge Capital for about Rs 55 crore.

3M India, Godfrey Phillips India, TV Today Network and Avanti Feeds surged between 10-20% on account of encouraging Q1 numbers.

Global Markets

Asian shares were trading mixed on concerns over geopolitical tensions and Argentina's debt default. The Nikkei ended down 0.3% while the Straits Times was lower by 0.8% on profit taking after recent gains.

Shares in China advanced with the benchmark Shanghai Composite up 1.7% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng up 0.3%.

European shares were trading with marginal gains in early trades but further gains are likely to be capped amid concerns over losses in Portugal's largest listed bank Banco Espirito Santo.

The FTSE, CAC-40 was up 0.1-0.3% while DAX was down 0.4%.