But some analysts still warned that the Omicron variant has introduced a high level of uncertainty around economic growth, inflation and market direction. WHO’s warning that it could fuel future surges of Covid-19 with severe consequences is a concern from the market’s perspective, they said.
“The underperformance of the Bank Nifty is a major trend in this market. This has the potential to reverse. Pharma, IT and telecom appear to be safe bets,” said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.
Equity investors’ wealth, reflected by the total market cap of BSE-listed companies, jumped by Rs 3.05 lakh crore to Rs 260 lakh crore.
How are bluechips doing
After opening in the green, benchmark indices rose further. At 10.32 am, BSE flagship Sensex was up 617 points or 1.08 per cent to 57,878. NSE benchmark Nifty added 172 points or 1.01 per cent to 17,226.
“On the technical front, the key resistance levels for Nifty50 are 17,215 followed by 17,380 and on the downside 16,840 followed by 16,620 can act as strong support. Key resistance and support levels for Bank Nifty are 36,440 and 35,420, respectively,” said Mohit Nigam, Head – PMS, Hem Securities.
In the 50-share pack Nifty, Power Grid was the biggest gainer, up 4.27 per cent. Tata Motors, Tech Mahindra, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv and Wipro were among other gainers.
Hero MotoCorp was the top loser in the pack, down 0.17 per cent. Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Britannia Industries, Adani Ports, M&M and HDFC Life Insurance were among those that traded in the red.
FACTORS DRIVING MARKETS
Hope and concerns: The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday the Omicron coronavirus variant carried a very high risk of infection surges, while border closures by more countries cast a shadow over economic recovery from the pandemic. But a South African infectious disease expert said existing vaccines should be effective at preventing severe disease from the variant.
Inflation to go down: US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Monday he continues to expect inflation to recede over the next year as supply and demand come into better balance, but warned that the new strain of COVID-19 muddies the outlook, and prices could continue to rise for longer than earlier thought.
Broader markets
Broader market indices were trading higher, outperforming their headline peers in morning trade. Nifty Smallcap was up 1.62 per cent while Nifty Midcap advanced 1.48 per cent. Broadest index on NSE, Nifty 500, was up 0.94 per cent.
Indian Hotels, Godrej Properties, Mindtree, PNB Housing Finance, Lux Industries and KPIT Tech were gainers from the space while Trident, Rossari Biotech, AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Ipca Labs and Dr Lal Pathlabs were under selling pressure.
Global markets
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was 0.52 per cent higher on Tuesday. In Australia, the S&P/ASX200 was up 1.15 per cent while Japan’s Nikkei was trading 1.2 per cent higher early in the session.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index underperformed, down 0.25 per cent while China’s blue chip CSI 300 index was up 0.13 per cent.
