Markets further up as rate hike fears ease

Mumbai: Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty advanced for a second consecutive session on Monday on gains in IT, financial and auto stocks following strong global trends. The 30-share BSE benchmark rose by 415.49 points or 0.69 per cent to close at 60,224.46 points with 25 of its constituents ending in the green. The barometer opened higher and spurted further nearly 690 points to touch a high of 60,498.48 in the day trade. The broader Nifty of the National Stock Exchange advanced 117.10 points or 0.67 per cent to settle at 17,711.45.

Vinod Nair, head (research) at Geojit Financial Services, said: "The major concerns that prevailed in the market during the previous weeks were the fear of aggressive Fed policy action, which led to a rise in treasury yields and US dollar, and the uncertainties surrounding Adani.

All of these have now shifted in favour of the bulls, as US officials reduced the likelihood of a sharp rate hike, forcing yields and the dollar index to moderate. Additionally, improved market sentiment due to the foreign bulk deal at Adani, the oversold stage of the domestic market, and FII buying helped sharpen the recovery."

"Markets extended rebound and gained over half a per cent, tracking favourable global cues.

After the gap-up start, the Nifty index inched higher to 17,799.95.

However, profit taking in index majors across sectors trimmed the gains as the day progressed. Meanwhile, a mixed trend on the sectoral trend kept the participants busy wherein energy, IT and auto performed well. Buoyancy on the global front is helping the index to stage recovery, however, multiple hurdles are capping the upside on every uptick," said Ajit Mishra, V-P (technical research), Religare Broking Ltd.

Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) were net buyers, with investments worth Rs 721.37 crore according to data with the BSE. Markets will remain closed on Tuesday for the Holi festival.

In the broader market, the BSE MidCap rose by 0.72 per cent or 177.66 points to 24,773.55 while the Smallcap advanced 0.90 per cent or 249.63 points to 28,096.03. Among sectoral indices, BSE Power spurted 2.5 per cent, BSE Oil & Gas by 1.9 per cent, BSE Energy by 1.74 per cent, BSE IT by 1.23 per cent, and BSE Teck 1.13 per cent. BSE Realty dropped 0.76 per cent, BSE Metal by 0.52 per cent, and Capital Goods slipped 0.04 per cent.

As many as 39 Nifty shares closed in the green. Gains in global markets following the US markets closing higher on Friday after positive economic data bolstered the investor sentiment, analysts said. Among Sensex stocks, Tata Motors rose the most by 2.79 per cent.

NTPC, Reliance Industries, Infosys, TCS, HDFC twins, Tata Motors, ITC, Power Grid and Bajaj Finserv were among the major gainers. Tata Steel fell the most by 1.22 per cent. L&T, Sun Pharmaceuticals, IndusInd Bank and Ultratech Cement were among the losers.

Among global markets, stocks in Asia and Europe advanced after strong data on the US economy sent Wall Street to its best close in six weeks.

Germany's DAX gained 0.4 per cent and France's CAC 40 rose by 0.7 per cent. London's FTSE 100 edged 0.1 per cent lower. In Asian trading, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index gained 0.2 per cent, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 by 1.1 per cent and the Kospi in Seoul by 1.3 per cent. On Friday, Sensex rallied nearly 900 points and Nifty jumped more than 272 points, mainly on the back of positive global cues and fresh fund inflows.