Sensex rises 99 pts, Nifty tops 18,600; PTC Industries rises 20%, RPower gains 14%

Domestic equity markets snapped the two-day losing streak and kicked off the week on a higher note. Headline indices managed to settle in green, thanks to the firm global cues. However, macroeconomic data due today kept the traders on tenterhooks, with investors looking at the US Fed meeting later this week.

For the day, the 30-share pack BSE Sensex jumped 99.08 points, or 0.16 per cent, to settle at 62,724.71, while NSE's Nifty50 gained 38.10 points, or 0.21 per cent, to end the session at 18,601.50. BSE midcap and smallcap index outperformed the headline peers and settled about a per cent higher. Fear gauge India VIX rose over a per cent to 11.25-levels.

Markets were extremely range-bound to end with a positive bias on the back of firm global markets, as investors were cautiously optimistic ahead of the US FOMC meeting later this week. Although there are indications that the Fed may pause on rate hikes this time, any uptick in key rates could fuel pessimism over global growth and trigger a short-term correction, said Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Research, Kotak Securities

"Technically, the Nifty hovered between 18,560-18,630, and the narrow range activity clearly indicates indecisiveness between the bulls and bears. For traders, 18,550 would be the immediate support level, above which the index could move up till 18,650-18,700. On the other hand, a fresh sell-off is possible only after the dismissal of 18,550," he said.

On a sectoral front, the Nifty pharma, private bank, healthcare and financial services indices settled lower. Among the gainers, the Nifty IT index rose about 2 per cent, while Nifty media and realty indices added more than a per cent. Nifty metal and oil & gas indices posted significant gains.

In the Nifty50 pack, Bharat Petroleum Corporation gained more than 3 per cent, while HCL Technologies posted similar gains. Infosys, NTPC, Adani Entertainment gained 2 per cent, each, while Nestle (India), Tata Consultancy Services, Tech Mahindra and Bajaj Finance rose over a per cent, each.

Among the gainers, Larsen & Toubro, Cipla, Maruti Suzuki, Titan Company and HDFC Bank were down a per cent, each. HDFC, ITC, ICICI Bank and JSW Steel were the among other key losers on the index for the day.

The domestic indices are moving with caution as investors step up to a data-loaded week both in the domestic and global markets, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

"However, the expectations are optimistic, like the Indian CPI data is forecasted to moderate and the Fed & BoJ are expected to maintain their policy rates. Other major events on the center stage are domestic IIP, WPI inflation, and policy announcements from ECB. The market anticipates ECB to increase their rates further while the recessionary risk is rising," he said.

A total of 3,862 shares were traded on BSE on Monday, of which 2,157 settled higher. 1,574 stocks ended the session higher while 131 shares remained unchanged. A total of 317 shares hit their upper circuit, whereas 154 shares tested the lower circuit levels for the day.

In the broader markets, PTC Industries and KPI Green Energy hit an upper circuit of 20 per cent, each. Sheela Foam and Reliance Power gained 14 per cent, each, while Ramco Systems gained 12 per cent. Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Elin Electronics advanced 11 per cent, each.

Among the losers, Bhansali Engineering Polymers dropped more than 5 per cent each, while Go Fashions fell 5 per cent on the back of a bulk deal by Sequoia Capital. Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri and Ion Exchange declined 4-5 per cent each for the day.

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