FILE PHOTO: A man looks at a screen across a road with the Sensex on the facade of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) building in Mumbai, India, June 29, 2015. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui
Sensex Today: Earnings Imported From Abroad, Domestic Benchmark Indices Opened Higher Monday.
Sensex today: Importing gains from overseas, domestic benchmark indices extended gains on Monday. After a dismal week, benchmark indices closed 1.4 percent higher on Monday as contraction in the US services sector and slower wage growth suggested the economy could be cooling, prompting investors to make optimistic bets.
The BSE Sensex jumped 989 points to the day’s high. It ended up being 847 points higher at 60,747. Index gains were led by M&M, HCL Tech, TCS, IndusInd Bank, Bharti Airtel, Tech M, Infosys, Wipro, Reliance, Axis Bank and HUL, which rose 2-3.6 percent.
The NSE Nifty finished at 18,101 with a gain of 242 points. Other winners included SBI Life, which won 3 percent. On the other hand, Titan, Bajaj Finserv, Maruti, Bajaj Auto, HDFC Life and Grasim were among the few losers.
Broader markets also gained along with frontline indices. The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices closed 0.9 percent and 0.5 percent higher, respectively.
Within sectors, Nifty IT gained the most, up 3 percent, followed by oil and gas, metals and auto PSB indices, which each gained more than 1 percent.
Among buzz stocks, Kalyan Jewelers finished 4 percent higher after the company’s December quarter (Q3FY2023) consolidated sales grew 13 percent compared to the same period last year.
Naveen Kulkarni, Chief Investment Officer, Axis Securities, said: “Indian markets opened in the green today following a rally in global equity markets due to several factors. This includes softer-than-expected US wage growth and comments from Fed’s Evans on Friday, where he expects a slower rate hike by the US Fed, including a possible 25 basis point hike at the upcoming policy meeting. In addition, further opening by both HK and China of remaining Covid-related border controls and the start of corporate earnings in the third quarter, with TCS poised to report their results today, are some of the other reasons for a green opening. From a medium-term perspective, we believe the market will remain volatile. The direction of the market will be determined by the upcoming earnings season, in which we can see the first signs of weakening earnings momentum and the announcement of the Union budget, scheduled for February 1, 2023.”
Global signals
Asia-Pacific shares started higher today as Hong Kong and mainland China resumed quarantine-free travel over the weekend, marking the end of the zero-Covid policy after nearly three years. The South Korean Kospi rose 2.06 percent, the Kosdaq gained 1.66 percent and the S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.75 percent.
Japanese markets were closed for Coming of Age Day, a public holiday.
Last Friday, Wall Street’s major indices all rose more than 2 percent after payrolls rose more than expected in December, even as wage growth slowed and services activity contracted, alleviating concerns about the Federal Reserve’s rate hike path.
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