Markets make slim gains amid positive cues

Mumbai : The BSE Sensex eked out marginal gains on Friday after two sessions of deep declines as investors scooped up Asian Paints, RIL and FMCG stocks amid a rebounding trend in overseas markets.

A recovering rupee also propped up the market, though the Covid-19 situation and pace of vaccination weighed on investor sentiment, traders said. The BSE benchmark swung between gains and losses during the session, before finally finishing 41.75 points or 0.09 per cent higher at 48,732.55.

However, the broader NSE Nifty slipped 18.70 points or 0.13 per cent to 14,677.80. Asian Paints was the top performer among the Sensex components, rallying 8.51 per cent, after the company on Wednesday reported an 81.13 per cent jump in consolidated net profit to Rs 869.89 crore for the March quarter.

ITC, Nestle India, L&T, HUL, PowerGrid and Reliance Industries were among the other winners. On the other hand, IndusInd Bank, M&M, Dr Reddy's, SBI, NTPC and ONGC led the losers' chart, dropping up to 2.82 per cent. Out of the 30 Sensex companies, 20 finished in red.

During the holiday-truncated week, the Sensex slumped 473.92 points or 0.96 per cent, while the Nifty declined 145.35 points or 0.98 per cent. "Indian equity markets remained largely range bound over the last week.

The Covid situation in India is no doubt grim and hence the health issue is something that could keep markets volatile in the near term," said Shibani Kurian, Senior EVP & Head- Equity Research, Kotak Mahindra AMC.

Going forward, market will likely track the pace of vaccinations, trajectory of active cases curve and management commentary of companies.

Rollback of localised lockdowns and trend of inflation in many global commodities like crude oil and steel will be other key factors to watch out for, she noted.

Sectorally, BSE FMCG, capital goods and consumer durables ended on a positive note, while metal, realty, utilities and auto indices lost up to 3.61 per cent. Broader BSE midcap and smallcap indices skidded as much as 1.18 per cent.