The Hindu Business Line file photo
Chennai, India (BBN) - The Sensex and Nifty were trading higher on Monday as Infosys rallied on hopes that the appointment of a new CEO would help the company move on from a feud between its board and founders that had pummelled shares.
Sentiment was also lifted by stronger Asian shares after the passage of a tax Bill by the US Senate on Saturday, although worries that the Bbill would lead to liquidity tightening in emerging markets weighed on investors, reports The Hindu Business Line.
At 1.50 p.m., the 30-share BSE index Sensex was up 90.03 points or 0.27 per cent at 32,922.27 and the 50-share NSE index Nifty was up 22.8 points or 0.23 per cent at 10,144.60.
Among BSE sectoral indices, IT index was the star-performer and was up 1.54 per cent, followed by TECk 1.29 per cent, healthcare 0.4 per cent and metal 0.28 per cent. On the other hand, consumer durables index fell 0.7 per cent, realty 0.37 per cent, power 0.32 per cent and banking 0.24 per cent.
Top five Sensex gainers were Infosys (+3.08%), HDFC (+1.31%), HUL (+1.25%), Tata Motors (+1.22%) and ONGC (+1.2%), while the major losers were Coal India (-2.2%), Reliance (-1.12%), Maruti (-1.04%), Asian Paints (-0.97%) and Sun Pharma (-0.78%).
Shares of Infosys climbed as much as 4.7 per cent as the board has has appointed Salil S. Parekh as Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director (CEO & MD) of the company effective January 2, 2018.
Biocon shares rallied as much as 14.2 per cent to Rs. 510 as the US Food and Drug Administration had on Friday approved Mylan NV's biosimilar of Roche's blockbuster treatment for breast cancer, Herceptin, making it the second copycat cancer drug to be approved in the United States.
Any gains in domestic equities are also likely to be capped ahead of the Reserve Bank of India's policy meeting on Wednesday. Although the central bank is widely expected to keep rates on hold, investors will watch for any hints of a cut at the February meeting in its statement.
“We had a positive opening in line with Asian peers. We also had some index heavyweights supporting positivity, putting a temporary stop to the negativity that we had seen late last week,” said Anand James, chief market strategist, Geojit Financial Services.
However, markets still look a little hesitant going into the last month of the year, he added.
The Reserve Bank of India’s monetary policy committee is likely to keep the policy repo rate on hold in the upcoming monetary policy review on account of various factors, including likelihood of retail inflation nudging up due to higher prices of vegetables and protein items, rising crude oil prices, risk of fiscal slippage, and possibility of the US Fed upping interest rates.
Traders were also keeping an eye on Gujarat elections. A curious catalyst has surfaced in the electoral chemistry of Gujarat.
EARLY TRADE
The 30-share index gained 175.53 points or 0.53 per cent to 33,008.47 with sectoral indices led by IT, TECk and healthcare trading in the positive zone. The gauge had tanked 891.50 points in the previous four sessions. The Nifty jumped 57.40 points or 0.56 per cent to 10,179.20.
According to provisional data, foreign funds had bought shares worth Rs. 306.11 crore on Friday.
ASIAN SHARES
The US dollar bounced to a two-week top on Monday as traders celebrated the passage of a Senate tax bill over the weekend, while stronger US stock futures pointed to a merry start for Asian shares.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average index fell 40.76 points or 0.17 per cent to 24,231, while the S&P500 lost 5.36 points or 0.20 per cent to 2,642. The Nasdaq Composite index also dropped 26.39 points or 0.38 per cent to 6,847.59 on developments with a probe into Russia’s alleged involvement in the US election as well as with progress on a tax Bill in Congress.
BBN/MMI/ANS