SENSEX, NIFTY MAKE SPLASH

Markets were on cloud nine today as forecast of a normal monsoon triggered massive buying, lifting benchmarks Sensex and Nifty to their all-time closing highs. The Sensex soared 314 points to end at 30,248, while the broader NSE Nifty finished above the 9,400-mark for the first time. Fertiliser and FMCG counters led the charge after the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) yesterday said monsoon rainfall will be higher than earlier forecast, which would give a booster dose to the rural economy. After a strong opening, the 30-share BSE Sensex continued its upward journey to hit a fresh intra-day high of 30,271.60 before ending at 30,248.17, up 314.92 points, or 1.05 per cent. The index broke its previous record closing of 30,133.35 reached on April 26. It also surpassed its intra-day peak of 30,184.22 recorded on April 27. On similar lines, the NSE Nifty, after hitting an all- time high of 9,414.75, settled higher by 90.45 points, or 0.97 per cent at 9,407.30. This surpassed its previous record close of 9,359.90 on May 4, as well as the intra-day high of 9,377.10 hit on May 5. "IMD's latest upgrade on normal monsoon due to ease in El Nino effect has added optimism in the market, taking it to a new high. "A good monsoon will raise the prospects of the Indian economy especially for FMCG and consumer durables sector," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services. Sentiment also got a leg up after data showed that foreign funds, which were net sellers on the Indian bourses for the past few sessions, made fresh purchases in yesterday's trade, brokers said. FIIs bought shares worth net Rs 332.87 crore yesterday, as per provisional figures issued by stock exchanges. In the fertiliser and chemicals space, shares of Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers, Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore (FACT), Madras Fertilizer and Chambal Fertilisers and Chemicals surged by up to to 6.89 per cent. Among BSE's sectoral indices, telecom stole the show by rising 4.59 per cent, while FMCG, auto and energy gained over a percent. IT and realty were the only laggards. Bharti Airtel was the biggest gainer in the Sensex pack, surging 7.87 per cent to Rs 372.70 even as the company reported its lowest quarterly profit in four years for the January-March period. It was followed by HUL 4.60 per cent, HDFC 3.25 per cent, M&M 2.59 per cent, Reliance 2.17 per cent, Bajaj Auto 1.74 per cent, Axis Bank 1.68 per cent, Maruti 1.53 per cent, Cipla 1.49 per cent and Tata Motors 1.25 per cent. However, Wipro fell 1.64 per cent, Asian Paints 1.14 per cent, ICICI Bank 0.91 per cent, TCS 0.86 per cent and Gail 0.84 per cent. Overseas, Asian markets ended mixed, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng rising 0.51 per cent and Japan's Nikkei gaining 0.29 per cent. European bourses were trading lower after unexpected firing of Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director James Comey by the Trump administration. France CAC and Germany Dax fell by up to 0.09 per cent, while London's FTSE was up 0.17 per cent.