Sensex jumps 1,006 pts on buying in Reliance after Q4 results, foreign fund inflows
Mumbai, Apr 28 (PTI): Benchmark BSE Sensex soared by 1,006 points to close above 80,000 level on Monday as a sharp rally in Reliance Industries and private banks, and foreign fund inflows helped stock markets cut short two days of fall amid India-Pakistan border tensions.
The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 1,005.84 points or 1.27 per cent to settle at 80,218.37 with 23 of its constituents ending with gains and seven in the red. During the day, it surged 1,109.35 points or 1.40 per cent to 80,321.88.
The NSE Nifty rallied 289.15 points or 1.20 per cent to close at 24,328.50.
All key sectors, barring IT, participated in the rally, with pharma, energy, and auto emerging as the top gainers.
Reliance Industries surged by 5.27 per cent to emerge as the biggest gainer among Sensex stocks. The oil-to-retail behemoth reported a 2.4 per cent rise in March quarter net profit beating street estimates.
Mahindra & Mahindra spurted 2.29 per cent after the auto major announced a Rs 555-crore acquisition of SML Isuzu and said that the buyout was a strong strategic fit for the company that would put it in a strong position. SML Isuzu Ltd shares, on the other hand, tanked 10 per cent.
Sun Pharma, Tata Steel, State Bank of India, Axis Bank, Tata Motors, Larsen & Toubro and ICICI Bank were also among the Sensex gainers.
HCL Tech, UltraTech Cement, Nestle and Hindustan Unilever were among the laggards.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 2,952.33 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.
Foreign investors have infused Rs 17,425 crore in the country's equity markets last week, supported by a combination of favourable global cues and strong domestic macroeconomic fundamentals.
This came following a net investment of Rs 8,500 crore in the preceding holiday-truncated week ended April 18.
"The domestic market recouped from the losses incurred during the last two days of the previous week, which stemmed from the border tensions.
"While sustained buying from FIIs and better results from RIL also boosted the investor sentiment. A weakening dollar and inflationary pressure in the US may attract FIIs into the domestic market," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited, said.
The BSE midcap gauge jumped 1.34 per cent and smallcap index climbed 0.39 per cent.
Among BSE sectoral indices, energy jumped 3.02 per cent, oil & gas (2.90 per cent), capital goods (1.93 per cent), healthcare (1.60 per cent), metal (1.59 per cent), bankex (1.53 per cent) and realty (1.41 per cent).
IT and BSE Focused IT were the laggards.
"The absence of any major geopolitical developments between India and Pakistan over the weekend, along with stability in global markets, eased pressure and triggered an upbeat start. Additionally, strength in index heavyweight Reliance, following its results, further supported the move as the session progressed," Ajit Mishra – SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd said.
In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi index and Tokyo's Nikkei 225 settled in the positive territory while Shanghai SSE Composite and Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended lower.
European markets were trading higher. US markets ended with gains on Friday.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.19 per cent to USD 66.74 a barrel.
The BSE barometer Sensex tanked 588.90 points or 0.74 per cent to settle at 79,212.53 on Friday. Falling for the second day, the Nifty tumbled 207.35 points or 0.86 per cent to 24,039.35.
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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.
