Sensex jumps over 450 points, Nifty trades above 18,600; ICICI Lombard jumps 11%; Balkrishna Industries & City Union Bank down up to 9%

Indian equity benchmarks traded higher in early deals on Monday amid improved global cues due to a weekend debt ceiling deal in the US. The domestic indices rose today led by strong buying interest in banks, financials and consumer stocks. The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 487 points or 0.78 per cent to trade at 62,988, while the broader NSE Nifty moved 117 points or 0.63 per cent higher to trade at 18,616. Mid- and small-cap shares were positive as Nifty Midcap 100 gained 0.23 per cent and the small-cap 100 was up 0.39 per cent.

US President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy forged an agreement over the weekend to avert a default to suspend the $31.4 trillion debt ceiling until 2025, ahead of the June 1 deadline. The deal will have to pass through the US Congress. Asian markets edged higher today.

Back home, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought Rs 350 crore worth of Indian equities in the previous session. FIIs have been net buyers in Indian stocks in 21 of the last 22 sessions.

"The 'in principle' deal on US debt ceiling is a near-term relief to stock markets and, therefore, can aid continuation of the ongoing rally which can take Nifty to new record highs. Sustained FPI inflows can provide fundamental support to the rally," VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

12 out of 15 sector gauges -- compiled by the National Stock Exchange -- were trading in the green. Sub-indexes Nifty Bank, Nifty Financial Services, Nifty FMCG and Nifty Consumer Durables were outperforming the NSE platform by rising as much as 0.92 per cent, 1.23 per cent, 0.46 per cent and 0.69 per cent, respectively.

On the stock-specific front, Mahindra & Mahindra was the top Nifty gainer as the stock jumped 3.35 per cent to trade at Rs 1,324.80. Also, SBI Life, IndusInd Bank, HDFC and Hindalco climbed up to 2.28 per cent.

In contrast, ONGC, Sun Pharma, Divi's Lab, Grasim and PowerGrid slipped up to 3.91 per cent.

The overall market breadth was strong as 1,896 shares were advancing while 1,123 were declining on BSE.

On the 30-share BSE index, HDFC duo, Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, ITC and Kotak Mahindra Bank were among the top gainers.

In addition, ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company jumped up to 11.36 per cent.

On the flip side, Balkrishna Industries and City Union Bank slipped up to 8.86 per cent. GMR Infra and Greaves Cottion fell up to 6.71 per cent.

Sensex had jumped 629 or 1.02 per cent to close at 62,502 on Friday, while Nifty had moved 178 points or 0.97 per cent higher to settle at 18,499.

Nifty and Nifty Bank outlooks

"Nifty has witnessed a strong recovery from the 18,200 zone with bias turning positive and with a breach above the crucial barrier of 18,400 has strengthened the overall trend anticipating for a further rise in the coming days. The near-term upside targets of 18,800-18,900 levels are open now with most of the frontline stocks well placed and indicating improvement in the bias. The support for the day is seen at 18,350 levels while the resistance is seen at 18,650 levels," said Vaishali Parekh, Vice-President - Technical Research, Prabhudas Lilladher.

"Nifty Bank also surged ahead to end up above 44,000 to indicate positive bias and sentiment anticipating a decisive breach above the previous peak zone of 44,150 levels and opening the gate for the next targets of 46,000-46,400 levels. The sub-index would have a daily range of 43,700-44,500 levels," Parekh stated.