RIL AGM fails to cheer markets

Mumbai: Equity benchmark indices climbed on Monday after two days of fall, tracking strength in global markets and buying in HDFC Bank. The BSE Sensex climbed 110.09 points or 0.17 per cent to settle at 64,996.60. During the day, it jumped 326.94 points or 0.50 per cent to 65,213.45. The NSE Nifty gained 40.25 points or 0.21 per cent to end at 19,306.05.

“The AGM held by Reliance was largely uneventful for the market. The key highlight was the succession plan. However, the company’s stock experienced a decline due to the absence of clear timelines regarding the telecom and retail IPOs. Presently, the market’s attention is shifting towards the global scenario, which exhibits some degree of stability. Nonetheless, lingering uncertainties on a global scale, particularly stemming from developments involving the US and China, continue to influence market sentiment,” Santosh Meena, Head of Research, Swastika Investmart Ltd, said.

“The highly anticipated Jackson Hole meeting didn’t bring much surprise, as the Fed chair expressed satisfaction with the progress of policy measures and reiterated its commitment to managing inflation within target bounds. This has raised expectations of a rate hike during the November Fed meeting. Global markets traded positively, led by Asian peers, as China’s measures to support the property sector boosted sentiment. Domestically, all major sectors, along with mid and small caps, remained positive, except for the IT sector, which faced concerns related to potential rate hikes,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs1,393.25 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.

In the broader market, the BSE smallcap gauge climbed 0.67 per cent and midcap gained 0.59 per cent. Among the indices, capital goods jumped 1.37 per cent, industrials climbed 1.09 per cent, realty (0.95 per cent), telecommunication (0.87 per cent), utilities (0.70 per cent), auto (0.65 per cent), commodities (0.63 per cent) and power (0.63 per cent). FMCG, IT and teck were the laggards.

From the Sensex pack, Larsen & Toubro, Mahindra & Mahindra, HDFC Bank, Sun Pharma, Maruti, Kotak Mahindra Bank, IndusInd Bank, Tata Steel and State Bank of India were among the gainers. Reliance Industries, Nestle, Titan, HCL Technologies, ITC and Tata Motors were among the laggards. In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong ended with gains. European markets were trading in the green. The US markets ended in the positive territory on Friday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.37 per cent to $84.79 a barrel. The BSE benchmark had ended lower by 365.83 points or 0.56 per cent at 64,886.51 on Friday. The Nifty declined by 120.90 points or 0.62 per cent to end at 19,265.80.