Sensex gains 36 points & Nifty ends below 15,000

Domestic equity markets closed almost flat amid volatility. After starting the day on a firm note led by positive cues but profit-booking at higher levels especially in the banking stocks, trimmed the gains as the session progressed. Consequently, the S&P BSE Sensex closed 35.75 points or 0.07% up at 50,441.07. The Nifty 50 index gained 18.10 points or 0.12 per cent to settle at 14,956.20. The Nifty Bank rose 47.60 points or 0.14 per cent to close at 35,275.75.

The broader indices managed to outperform the benchmark as both Midcap and Smallcap ended higher by 0.30 per cent and 0.63 per cent.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1729 shares rose and 1415 shares fell. On the Nifty 50 index, 27 shares advanced and 23 shares declined. The top five gainers on Nifty 50 were UPL (up 7.08 per cent), GAIL (up 4.25 per cent), L&T (up 3.42 per cent), ONGC (up 3.31 per cent) and SBI Life (up 2.28 per cent). The top five losers were IndusInd Bank (down 2.22 per cent), Shree Cement (down 2.19 per cent), Bajaj Finance (down 2.11 per cent), UltraTech Cement (down 1.74 per cent) and Bajaj Auto (down 1.50 per cent).

COVID-19 Update

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 11,68,49,611 with 25,93,230 deaths. India reported 1,88,747 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 1,57,853 deaths while 1,08,82,798 patients have been discharged.

Besides, more than 2.9 crore doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered to the beneficiaries in the country so far. Health Ministry said that a total of over 66,000 doses of vaccines were administered to the beneficiaries in the last 24 hours. Meanwhile, the country's COVID-19 recovery rate reached 96.91 per cent with a total recovery of more than 14,000 thousand patients in the last 24 hours.

$1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package of the US

The US Senate approved U.S. President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package.

Surge in Chinese Exports

China's exports surged in the first two months of the year, reflecting strong global demand for manufactured goods and with figures partly skewed by the low base in 2020 when the economy was in lockdown. Exports jumped 60.6 per cent in dollar terms in the January-February period from a year earlier, data from the General Administration of Customs showed Sunday, well above the 40 per cent median estimate in a survey of economists. In February alone, exports more than doubled from last year.

The first two months are normally volatile for China's economic activity because of the week-long Lunar New Year holiday, which fell in February this year. The figures are even more distorted this time around because of the comparison with 2020 when factories and businesses were shut to contain the Coronavirus outbreak in the early part of the year. Exports plunged 17.4 per cent in the first two months of last year.

Even with the favourable base effects, the data shows exports continued to benefit from soaring global demand for medical equipment and work-from-home devices, which has helped to underpin China's V-shaped recovery from the pandemic since the second half of the year.

The customs agency said the strong trade data reflects improving demand in major trading partners like the US and Europe, a domestic recovery that is fuelling import growth and base effects from last year's slump. Exports also benefited from a shorter-than-usual vacation for migrant workers during this year's Lunar New Year break.