The central bank retained its GDP growth forecast of 10.5 per cent for the current financial year despite the threat from rising Covid-19 infections and return of localised lockdowns. The Monetary Policy Committee’s commitment to its accommodative stance also lifted the spirits of investors.
For the day, the Nifty50 index ended 0.9 per cent or 135.6 points higher at 14,819.1, while the BSE Sensex closed at 49,661.8, up 460 points or 0.9 per cent.
The gains in the broader market were more prominent as the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 index closed 1.3 per cent and 1.7 per cent higher, respectively.
Here are the major movers in today’s session:
Food delivery stocks rise
Shares of Domino’s operator Jubilant Foodworks and Zomato-investor Info Edge India rose 2 per cent and 4 per cent respectively after the commissioner of the Mumbai municipal corporation reportedly said that the city may allow resumption of home delivery beyond the 8:00 pm curfew time.
RIL, rise on spectrum sale
Shares of Bharti Airtel and
closed 1.8 per cent and 0.9 per cent higher respectively after the former agreed to sell some of its 800 MHz band spectrum to RIL. For Bharti Airtel, the deal helps monetise idle spectrum and for RIL, it helps fulfil its spectrum needs without paying the eye-watering prices sought by the government.
Banks gain on RBI’s dovish tone
The central bank’s dovish tone on policy stance as well as its insistence that the impact of the second Covid-19 wave in the economy won’t be as bad as feared eased investors’ concerns for the sector. Shares of banks had been laggards ever since the emergence of the second wave of infections in the country. The Nifty Bank index rose 1.5 per cent.
What gave the buy signals?
In an indication of the risk-on sentiment in the market, as many as 116 stocks listed on the NSE gave buy signals based on MACD indicators, including Ashok Leyland, Tata Coffee,
, and Havells India.
What’s ahead for the market?
The optimism of the cash market was not reflected in the options contracts of the Nifty50 index where traders largely sold out-of-money call options of the index beyond 14,900 strike price. The activity in the options of Nifty50 indicated that traders are not betting on the index to break above the 14,900-15,000 mark this week.
“The markets might face some resistance around the current juncture. On the downside, 14,600-14,700 has become a good support for the Nifty and if we disrespect this zone, we could break further and go down to 14,200-14,300,” said Manish Hathiramani, technical analyst at Deen Dayal Investments.
