NEW DELHI: Benchmark indices swung between red and green in early trade on Monday. Auto and bank stocks saw selling, while FMCG and metal stocks were in demand.
While the Covid-19 situation is improving in India, other Asian countries are witnessing a rise in infections. This might impact sentiments for Asian markets in general, said an analyst.
“Usually, when markets touch new highs, some consolidation with minor corrections happen even in bull markets. This can happen since Nifty touched new highs last Friday. Auto numbers of May will be very dismal and some market reaction can be expected in this segment. Banking appears to be on a strong wicket in the light of new reliefs announced for the MSME segment,” said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.
How are the bluechips doing?
After opening in the red, benchmark indices gained a bit. At 9.50 am, BSE flagship Sensex gained 111 points or 0.22 per cent to 51,534.67. NSE benchmark Nifty gained 23 points or 0.15 per cent to 15,458.25.
In the 50-share pack Nifty, Divi’s Labs was the biggest gainer, up 2.58 per cent.
, ITC, Asian Paints, JSW Steel, Tata Steel, Grasim Industries, Bharti Airtel and ICICI Bank were among other gainers.
M&M was the top loser in the pack, down 5.48 per cent.
, IndusInd Bank, Indian Oil, Tech Mahindra, Adani Ports, NTPC, HDFC Bank and Hero MotoCorps were other losers in the pack.
FACTORS DRIVING MARKETS
Good news
Covid cases fall: India’s COVID-19 graph continued to show a declining trend with 1.73 lakh new Covid cases recorded in the last 24 hours, the lowest daily spike in 45 days. Earlier this month, the country’s daily cases hit a grim world record with 4.14 lakh infections.
Yields fall: The US 10-year Treasury yield fell to 1.593 per cent, a positive signal for emerging markets like India.
Bad news:
Inflation rises in the US: US consumer prices surged in April, with a measure of underlying inflation blowing past the Federal Reserve’s 2 per cent target and posting its largest annual gain since 1992.
Broader markets
Broader market indices were trading lower, but better than their headline peers in morning trade. Nifty Smallcap was down 0.15 per cent while Nifty Midcap dropped 0.22 per cent. Broadest index on NSE, Nifty500 declined 0.26 per cent.
V-Guard, Nippon Asset Management India, Ipca Labs, Heidelberg Cement, Shilpa Medicare and PNB Housing were gainers from the space while GMM Pfaudler, Kaveri Seeds, Alkyl Amines, Bank of Baroda, Glenmark Pharma and Aditya Birla Fashions were under selling pressure.
Global markets
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.3 per cent, having rallied 2.2 per cent last week. Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.7 per cent, while Australia touched a fresh all-time peak.
Chinese blue chips slipped 0.4 per cent, while a survey showed a slight slowdown in factory activity but a pick-up in the giant service sector.
Markets in the United States and Britain are closed for a holiday, but futures were still trading in Asia with the Nasdaq up 0.2 per cent and S&P 500 ahead by 0.1 per cent. EUROSTOXX 50 futures eased 0.1 per cent.
