Sensex rises 232 points, Nifty settles nears 19,600; Divis Labs, M&M jump up to 5%; Britannia drops 3%

Domestic equity markets kicked off the week on a high note as headline indices settled higher on Monday. The session continued to remain choppy but the headline indices managed to hold gains, despite trading in a tight range for the day. Muted global cues and FIIs selling weighed on the market sentiments.

For the day, BSE's barometer Sensex gained 232.23 points, or 0.35 per cent, to settle at 65,953.48, while NSE's Nifty50 surged 80.30 points, or 0.41 per cent, to end the day at 19,597.30. BSE midcap added about half a per cent, while BSE smallcap index settled in green. Fear gauge India VIX surged more than 5 per cent to 11.10-level.

Although the markets started the week on a firm note, they remained rangebound in the morning trade. In the 2nd half of the trading session, buying in the IT and Pharma stocks helped the Index to breach its congestion to end the day at 19,597.30 with gains of 80.30 points, said Aditya Gaggar, Director of Progressive Shares.

"The Realty sector also performed well while the BFSI segment remained a laggard. On the daily chart, Nifty50 has formed a DOJI kind of candlestick formation at the crucial level of 20-DMA resistance. A convincing close above the 20-DMA will help the Index to reclaim 19,800 while on the flip side, it will retest 19,400," he said.

On a sectoral front, the Nifty pharma and healthcare indices gained about 2 per cent each. The Nifty IT and realty index gained about half a per cent each. Among the laggards, Nifty PSU Bank index dropped about a per cent, while the Nifty media and metal indices also settled in red.

In the Nifty50 pack, Divis Labs topped among the gainers, rising 5 per cent. Mahindra & Mahindra surged more than 4 per cent after strong Q1 results. SBI Life Insurance settled 3 per cent up, while Sun Pharmaceuticals, LTIMindTree, Adani Ports, Grasim, Hindalco and Bajaj Finserv added 2 per cent, each.

Among the losers, Britannia Industries plunged about 3 per cent, while Bajaj Auto, State Bank of India and Tata Motors declined about a per cent, each. Axis Bank, ONGC, Bajaj Finance and Tata Steel were among the other key laggards on the blue-chip index.

The Indian market began the data-centric week with modest gains, primarily propelled by strong performances in the pharma and IT sectors, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

"Global markets portrayed a mixed picture, with US futures exhibiting positivity in response to a moderation in bond yields, while European markets experienced declines due to weak economic data. Caution prevailed in the market due to the anticipation of upcoming inflation data and the RBI's monetary policy," he said.

A total of 3,887 shares were traded on BSE on Monday, of which 2,028 settled with gains. 1,661 stocks ended the session with cuts while 198 shares remained unchanged. A total of 323 shares hit their upper circuit, whereas 271 shares tested the lower circuit levels for the day.

In the broader markets, Universal Cables surged more than 20 per cent, while Zee Media rallied 15 per cent. Poly Medicare and DB Realty surged 14 per cent each, while Orient Cement gained about 13 per cent. Dhani Services, HFCL and Tourism Finance Corporation gained 12 per cent each.

On the downside, Venky's plunged more than 15 per cent, while Fairchem Organics dropped about 13 per cent. Man Industries plunged over 10 per cent, while Lloyd Steel settled 9 per cent down. Carborundum Universal, Gujarat Ambuja Exports and Punjab and Sind Bank fell 7 per cent each for the day.

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