Interim trade deal with US, SBI rally boost markets

Investors richer by %6.03 lakh cr

- KISHOR KADAM

TRACKING POSITIVE GLOBAL cues, the equity benchmarks gained up to 0.68% on Monday as the announcement of an interim India-US trade deal over the weekend, along with a sharp rally in State Bank of India (SBI) shares following the bank’s record net profit of $21,028 crore in the December quarter, boosted the investor sentiment on Monday.

The country’s largest public sector lender alone contributed 280 points, or 58%, to the Sensex’s 485-point gain.

Starting the week on a strong note, the Sensex climbed 485.35 points, or 0.58%, to close at a one-month high of 84,065.75, while the Nifty surged 173.60 points, or 0.68%, to end the session at 25,867.30.