Veteran Cong leader, former MP minister Arif Aqueel passes away
Bhopal (PTI): Former Madhya Pradesh minister and senior Congress leader Arif Aqueel passed away on Monday at the age of 72 in a private hospital in Bhopal after prolonged illness, family sources said.
Aqueel, who was elected from Bhopal North assembly seat six times in his long political career, is survived by his wife, three sons and one daughter.
He won as an Independent MLA for the first time in 1990 and later joined the Congress. He emerged victorious from Bhopal North seat in the 1998, 2003, 2008, 2013 and 2018 assembly polls. However, he lost the polls from Bhopal North in 1993 as a Janata Dal supported candidate.
He was a prominent Muslim face of the party and was cabinet minister in the Congress governments led by Digvijaya Singh (1996-2003) and Kamal Nath (2018-2020).
Both Singh and Nath expressed grief at the death of Aqueel.
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Markets rebound sharply on ceasefire between India, Pakistan: Sensex, Nifty surge over 3 pc
New Delhi, May 12 (PTI): Dalal Street investors became richer by Rs 16.15 lakh crore on Monday as markets skyrocketing nearly 4 per cent, after India and Pakistan announced reaching an understanding to stop all firings and military actions on land, air and sea.
Also, a trade agreement between the US and China added to the markets' optimism.
After starting the trade on an optimistic note, the 30-share BSE benchmark gauge Sensex further jumped 2,975.43 points or 3.74 per cent to settle at 82,429.90. During the day, it rallied 3,041.5 points or 3.82 per cent to a high of 82,495.97.
The market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms jumped by Rs 16,15,275.19 crore to Rs 4,32,56,125.65 crore (USD 5.05 trillion) in a single day.
"Confluence of positive geopolitical and economic developments — the ceasefire between India and Pakistan, coupled with a breakthrough trade agreement between the US and China — sparked the strongest daily market rally in recent times," Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments Limited, said.
From the Sensex firms, Infosys jumped 7.91 per cent. HCL Tech, Tata Steel, Eternal, Tech Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Services, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finance, NTPC and Reliance Industries were the other major gainers.
Sun Pharma and IndusInd Bank were the only laggards from the blue-chip pack.
"Markets staged a sharp rebound on Monday, buoyed by easing geopolitical tensions after the India-Pakistan ceasefire. Benchmark indices posted their strongest single-day performance in over four years," Vikram Kasat, Head - Advisory at PL Capital, said.
The BSE smallcap gauge surged 4.18 per cent and midcap index jumped 3.85 per cent.
"Markets opened the week on a strong footing, rallying nearly 4 per cent, driven by supportive global and domestic cues. The key trigger was the announcement of a ceasefire between India and Pakistan over the weekend, signalling easing geopolitical tensions. Adding to the positive sentiment were encouraging updates on the US-China trade deal, which further boosted investor confidence as the session progressed," Ajit Mishra – SVP, Research at Religare Broking Ltd, said.
All sectoral indices ended higher. IT zoomed 6.75 per cent, BSE Focused IT (6.74 per cent), realty (5.87 per cent), metal (5.24 per cent), teck (5.21 per cent), utilities (5.07 per cent), power (4.82 per cent) and industrials (4.24 per cent).
"Indian equities made spectacular gains on Monday, with the Nifty soaring by a record 917 points to close at 24,925 - a seven-month high. The de-escalation in India-Pakistan tensions over the weekend has significantly helped calm investors' nerves and improve sentiments.
"On the global front, the US announced a headway in the trade negotiations with China, as both countries agreed to drastically roll back tariffs on each other's goods for an initial 90-day period," Siddhartha Khemka, Head - Research, Wealth Management at Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd, said.
As many as 3,545 stocks advanced while 576 declined and 133 remained unchanged on the BSE.
