The forecast of normal rains by the India Meteorological Department amid expectations of strong quarterly earnings drove a 311-point rally in the Sensex on Tuesday that helped the benchmark index regain the 60000 mark.

Banking and auto stocks advanced on optimism they would report robust earnings for the quarter ended March 31, 2023, following better-than-expected business updates by them. The IMD’s forecast for normal monsoon added to the buoyant sentiment and it led to the shares of FMCG and auto companies such as Hindustan Unilever and Mahindra & Mahindra ending higher because of their dependence on the rural sector.

Rising for the seventh straight session, the 30-share Sensex scaled past 60000 at the open and built upon its gains to hit a day’s high of 60267.68 — a gain of 421.17 points.

It later ended at 60157.72, up 311.21 points or 0.52 per cent.

The IMD’s forecast of a normal monsoon led to gains in FMCG and auto counters. While HUL gained 0.43 per cent to settle at Rs 2,445.95, M&M rose 1.14 per cent to Rs 1,201.85 and Hero Motocorp 0.37 per cent at Rs 2,468.70.

On the other hand, Kaveri Seed Company surged 3.57 per cent to Rs 503.55, while Godrej Agrovet was up 1.45 per cent at Rs 435.95.

REIT index

NSE Indices Ltd on Tuesday launched the country's first-ever Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvIT) index — Nifty REITs and InvITs Index.