Mumbai, India (BBN) – The benchmark Sensex surged over 200 points due to short-covering by speculators ahead of January monthly derivatives contract expiry.
Domestic sentiment got a boost on optimism ahead of the annual budget to be unveiled next week, reports The Hindu Business Line.
The Supreme Court on Monday rejected a petition to delay the Union Budget, which Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is scheduled to deliver on February 1, dismissing concerns about potential giveaways ahead of critical state polls.
Analysts are hoping for a Budget that delivers some incentives to support an economy that has been hit by India’s shock move to ban higher-value banknotes.
“Financials have underperformed for sometime because of concerns on growth and outlook after demonetisation,” said Neeraj Dewan, director at Quantum Securities.
“There can be also be some pre-budget buying happening in the market,” Dewan added.
At 2:20 pm, the 30-share BSE index Sensex was up 210.53 points or 0.78 per cent at 27,327.87 and the 50-share NSE index Nifty was up 65.65 points or 0.78 per cent at 8,457.15.
Among BSE sectoral indices, auto index gained the most by 1.33 per cent, metal 1.29 per cent, power 1.24 per cent and capital goods 1.23 per cent. On the other hand, IT index was down 0.32 per cent and TECk 0.17 per cent.
Top five Sensex gainers were Bajaj Auto (+2.68 per cent), M&M (+2.17 per cent), L&T (+2.01 per cent), Power Grid (+1.92 per cent) and Adani Ports (+1.9 per cent), while the major losers were Bharti Airtel (-0.99 per cent), Infosys (-0.69 per cent), HUL (-0.49 per cent) and Cipla (-0.07 per cent).
Banks were among the gainers, with HDFC Bank up nearly 2 per cent and Kotak Mahindra Bank, which will report earnings on Wednesday, rising 0.80 per cent.
IT stocks however fell, with Infosys Ltd and HCL Technologies Ltd down more than 1 per cent each amid worries US President Donald Trump’s protectionist stance would adversely impact global exporters.
Trump formally withdrew the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal on Monday, distancing America from its Asian allies, as China’s influence in the region rises.
MOIL Ltd fell as much as 3.9 pct to its lowest since January 3 after the manganese ore miner said the government would sell 10 per cent stake in the company.
Early today, HCL Technologies reported a 7.8 per cent rise in consolidated net profit at Rs 2,070 crore for the third quarter ended December 2016.
A mixed trend in other Asian bourses too influenced the sentiment, they said.
In the Asian region, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 0.30 per cent, while Shanghai Composite index edged down 0.09 per cent in early trade today. Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.07 per cent.
The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended lower by 0.14 per cent in yesterday’s trade. PTI KPS DP JM 01240953
A report by IFA Global said “Asian stock markets are trading on a mixed note, with Hang Seng index trading higher by 75 points and Nikkei index is trading lower by 13 points as major global indices remained under pressure post-Trump inauguration speech.
US stock markets closed on a negative note, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed lower by 27 points and Nasdaq index closed lower by 2 points.
US equities closed lower as US President Donald Trump’s focus on trade protectionism fueled suspicions his administration might seek a competitive advantage through a weaker currency.
European stock markets closed in the red, with FTSE closed lower by 47 points and CAC lower by 29 point.
European markets ended the day lower following weak global cues.
BBN/MS/ANS