Markets End Higher As US-China Trade Deal Propels A Global Rally

Benchmark indices ended the day higher, led by a solid global rally on reports that the US and China had struck a phase 1 deal with regard to trade tariffs.

This sparked a solid global rally with most Asian markets ending the day higher by 2.5 per cent, including the Japanese Nikkei and the Hong Kong's Hang Sang. European markets to opened higher, while Dow Futures pointed to another record highs.

The Sensex ended the day with gains of 428 points, while the Nifty closed higher by 115 points. Leading the set of gainers from the Sensex was Axis Bank, Vedanta, SBI and Coal India. A few select stocks that decline were Dr Reddy's, Bharti Airtel and Zee Entertainment.

Shares in HDFC continued to rally and hit a new record high in trade today.

Mastek saw its shares gain after an exchange filing by the company in which it reported that it had sold its stake in Majesco (USA) for $15.94 million. This the company said would help the firm's U.K. unit to drive its growth strategy.

Meanwhile, the rupee opened the day higher at 70.66 to the dollar. The currency has seen good gains after having fallen below the 71 levels earlier this week.