Sensex rises 455 pts to end at over week's high on early monsoon, easing trade worries
Mumbai, May 26 (PTI): Benchmark Sensex on Monday advanced by 455 points to close at over a week's high due to buying in auto and IT shares following positive macro factors and easing trade worries as US President Donald Trump delayed 50 per cent EU tariffs to July 9.
Rising for the second session, the 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 455.37 points or 0.56 per cent to settle at 82,176.45. During the day, it surged 771.16 points or 0.94 per cent to 82,492.24.
The NSE Nifty climbed 148 points or 0.60 per cent to settle at 25,001.15, a level not seen since May 16.
The early arrival of monsoon and the Reserve Bank announcing a record Rs 2.69 lakh crore dividend to the government for FY25 also added to the optimistic trend in the markets, experts said.
Among Sensex stocks, leading tractor and auto manufacturer Mahindra & Mahindra rose the most by 2.17 per cent. HCL Tech, Tata Motors, Nestle, ITC, Hindustan Unilever, Larsen & Toubro, and Tech Mahindra were the major gainers.
In contrast, Eternal, UltraTech Cement, Power Grid, Tata Steel and Kotak Mahindra Bank were among the laggards. Eternal dropped the most by 4.51 per cent.
India has become the fourth largest economy in the world, overtaking Japan, NITI Aayog CEO BVR Subrahmanyam has said.
The Reserve Bank on Friday announced a record Rs 2.69 lakh crore dividend to the government for FY25, 27.4 per cent higher than 2023-24, helping the exchequer to tide over challenges posed by US tariffs and increased spending on defence due to the conflict with Pakistan.
"The US decision to consider extending the deadline for imposing aggressive tariffs on EU, coupled with a decline in the dollar index, contributed to a rebound in the domestic equity markets. These developments suggest that trade negotiations are progressing constructively, which could help moderate market volatility.
"Additionally, the early onset of the southwest monsoon and a decline in domestic bond yields have encouraged investors to maintain their focus on riskier assets," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited, said.
"Although the market pared most of its early gains, benchmark indices closed above their key psychological levels on steady all-round buying support due to optimism in European indices and mixed Asian cues," Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd, said.
The BSE midcap gauge climbed 0.56 per cent and smallcap index went up by 0.48 per cent.
Among sectoral indices, auto jumped 1.04 per cent, BSE Focused IT (1.04 per cent), FMCG (0.93 per cent), industrials (0.98 per cent), IT (0.95 per cent), capital goods (0.91 per cent), teck (0.88 per cent) and oil & gas (0.67 per cent).
Services emerged as the only laggard.
As many as 2,301 stocks advanced while 1,772 declined and 194 remained unchanged on the BSE.
In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi and Japan's Nikkei 225 index settled in the positive territory, while Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended lower.
Markets in Europe were trading higher in mid-session deals.
US markets ended lower on Friday.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 1,794.59 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.
The southwest monsoon hit Kerala on Saturday, marking its earliest arrival over the Indian mainland since 2009 when it reached the southern state on May 23, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.17 per cent to USD 64.89 a barrel.
On Friday, the 30-share BSE benchmark surged 769.09 points or 0.95 per cent to settle at 81,721.08. The Nifty rallied 243.45 points or 0.99 per cent to 24,853.15.
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Ordinance issued to increase number of Supreme Court judges from 34 to 38
New Delhi (PTI): The government has promulgated an ordinance to increase the strength of the Supreme Court from the present 34 judges to 38, including the Chief Justice of India.
The law ministry notified the ordinance on Saturday, which amended the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956, to increase the sanctioned strength of the top court.
So far, the sanctioned strength of the top court was 34, including the Chief Justice of India (CJI). Now, the number of judges has been increased by four, taking the sanctioned strength to 38.
The top court will now have 37 judges, other than the CJI.
With the apex court having two vacancies at present, and the ordinance coming into force immediately, the Supreme Court Collegium will now have to recommend six names for appointment as judges in the top court.
A bill will be brought in the Monsoon Session of Parliament to convert the ordinance – an executive order – into a law passed by Parliament.
The Union Cabinet had cleared a draft bill on May 5 to increase the number of apex court judges.
The strength of the Supreme Court was last increased from 30 to 33 (excluding the CJI) in 2019.
The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, as originally enacted in 1956, put the maximum number of judges (excluding the CJI) at 10.
This number was increased to 13 by the Supreme Court (Number of Judges), Amendment Act, 1960, and to 17 by another amendment to the law.
The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Act, 1986, augmented the strength of judges from 17 to 25, excluding the CJI.
A fresh amendment in 2009 further increased the strength from 25 to 30.
Article 124(3) of the Constitution lists the qualifications required to become a Supreme Court judge.
An Indian citizen who has either served as a high court judge for at least five years, or as an advocate for 10 years, or is a distinguished jurist, can be appointed to the top court.
The strength of the Supreme Court is increased based on the recommendations of the CJI, who writes to the Union law minister. After consulting the finance ministry, the Department of Justice under the law ministry moves the Cabinet with a draft bill.
