IT stocks were the biggest drags on indices as the underwhelming earnings report by
disappointed investors. Rest of the sectors saw buying.
How are bluechips doing
After opening in the red, benchmark indices wobbled around the flatline. At 9.31 am, BSE flagship Sensex was up 30 points or 0.05 per cent to 60,089. NSE benchmark Nifty advanced 24 points or 0.13 per cent to 17,919.
“On the technical front, markets are in a structurally positive trend. Strong support can be seen at 17,700 level and 18,100 level may act as a near-term resistance in Nifty50,” said Mohit Nigam, Head – PMS, Hem Securities.
In the 50-share pack Nifty, Tata Motors was the biggest gainer, up 5.76 per cent. Coal India, NTPC, Power Grid, Maruti Suzuki, Kotak Mahindra Bank, ONGC, Eicher Motors and Bajaj Finserv were among other gainers.
TCS was the top loser in the pack, down 5.99 per cent. Wipro, Infosys, HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra, Bharti Airtel and Shree Cement were among those that traded in the red.
FACTORS DRIVING MARKETS
Good news
Payroll data: Data from the Labor Department on Friday showed US nonfarm payrolls increased by 194,000 jobs last month way below economists’ forecast of 500,000. Any Fed tightening was contingent upon job recovery. Since it has come lower than expected, traders believe any rate hike will be delayed.
Bad news
Yields rise: Yields on 10-year notes were trading up at 1.62%, having jumped 15 basis points last week in the biggest such rise since March. Bonds also sold off in Asia and Europe, with short-term yields in Britain hitting their highest since February 2020.
Crude oil: Oil prices extended their bull run, with gains across the energy complex stoking inflation concerns.
Q2 earnings: TCS disappointed investors who were hoping for a blockbuster beginning of the earnings season. However, they were forced to trim their expectations from the IT bloc after this.
Broader markets
Broader market indices were trading higher, outperforming their headline peers in morning trade. Nifty Smallcap was up 0.94 per cent while Nifty Midcap advanced 0.11 per cent. Broadest index on NSE, Nifty 500 was up 0.11 per cent.
GMR Infra, Exide Industries, Concor, IEX, Trident and Vakrangee were gainers from the space while Godrej Properties, Chambal Fertilisers, Wockhardt, KPIT Tech, Coforge, Mphasis and Mindtree were under selling pressure.
Global markets
Nasdaq futures and S&P 500 futures were both down around 0.1%, but well above early lows. EUROSTOXX 50 futures dipped 0.1% and FTSE futures held steady.
A 1% rise in the Chinese blue chip index helped stabilise the mood and MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.7%. The drop in the yen provided a welcome boost to Japan’s Nikkei which reversed early losses to rise 1.7%, though Australia was still off 0.4%.
Things to watch out for:
-Q2 earnings: Delta Corp, HFCL, Tata Metaliks
