Investors are buying on hopes that as the situation improves further and there will be a swift economic recovery, riding on pent-up demand. However, a decline in government revenue could be a concern in the coming days, said one analyst.
“There is room for optimism on the coronavirus front since fresh cases have fallen to 1.95 lakh cases during the last 24 hours and recoveries are at 3.25 lakh. So, anticipating progressive unlocking starting June, the Indian market is likely to join the current risk-on in global markets. Nifty is moving towards an all-time high. Nifty bank index has more room on the upside,” said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.
How are the blue-chip stocks doing?
After opening in the green, benchmark indices maintained their lead. At 9:40 am, BSE flagship Sensex was up 233 points or 0.46 per cent at 50,885. NSE benchmark Nifty added 82 points or 0.54 per cent to 15,280.
In the 50-share pack Nifty, Asian Paints was the biggest gainer, up 2.29 per cent.
, Titan, Nestle India, M&M, Tata Steel, Britannia, Hindalco Industries and ONGC were among other gainers.
HDFC Bank was the top loser in the pack, down 1.06 per cent. BPCL was the other loser in the pack.
FACTORS DRIVING MARKETS
- Covid cases fall: India recorded less than 2 lakh fresh Covid-19 cases on Monday for the first time in 40 days. The death toll too was the lowest in 27 days with 3,260 fatalities reported in the last 24 hours.
- Bond yields: US Treasury long-dated yields fell to two-week lows after a few Federal Reserve officials affirmed their support to keep monetary policy accommodative for some time. Lower bond yields means more money coming to emerging market equities like India.
Broader markets
Broader market indices were trading higher, outperforming their headline peers in morning trade. Nifty Smallcap was up 0.61 per cent while Nifty Midcap rose 0.65 per cent. The broadest index on NSE, the Nifty 500, added 0.54 per cent.
Concor, Jindal Steel, Mahanagar Gas, Lux Industries, CanFin Homes and CAMS were gainers from the space while Century Ply, JK Lakshmi Cement, FDC, Union Bank of India, Amara Raja Batteries and Ramco Cement were under selling pressure.
Global markets
In early trade, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.81 per cent at a two-week high, after US stocks ended the previous session with mild gains.
Australian shares were up 0.76 per cent, while Japan’s Nikkei stock index rose 0.63 per cent. China’s blue-chip CSI300 index jumped 0.22 per cent in morning trade, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index opened up 0.41 per cent.
Overnight, Wall Street closed higher, spurred by gains in tech stocks, with the sector’s majors Apple up 1.33 per cent and Microsoft up 2.29 per cent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.54 per cent while the S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 0.99 per cent and 1.41 per cent, respectively.
