Sensex rises over 100 points, Nifty trades above 18,600; PTC Industries, Sheela Foam & Suzlon Energy jump up to 20%

Indian equity benchmarks traded higher in early deals on Monday. The domestic indices rose today led by gains in technology, metal and automobile stocks. The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 106 points or 0.17 per cent to trade at 62,732, while the broader NSE Nifty moved 38 points or 0.20 per cent higher to trade at 18,601. Mid- and small-cap shares were positive as Nifty Midcap 100 crawled 0.11 per cent higher and the small-cap 100 was up 0.48 per cent.

On the global front, Asian markets were mixed today ahead of rate decisions from the Bank of Japan and European Central Bank, due this week. Wall Street equities closed at new highs for 2023 on Friday, on rising odds of a rate hike pause by the US central bank in its upcoming meeting on June 14.

Back home, investors also await domestic retail inflation data, due post-market hours.

"This week, markets will react to a flurry of important economic data. US inflation data on June 13, FOMC rate decision on June 14, ECB rate decision on June 15 and India's IIP and May CPI data today will give an indication of the likely economic and market direction. Markets are approaching these data points with cautious optimism as reflected in bullish market conditions," said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

13 out of the 15 sector gauges -- compiled by the National Stock Exchange -- were trading in the green. Sub-indexes Nifty IT, Nifty Metal and Nifty Auto were outperforming the NSE platform by rising as much as 0.80 per cent, 0.48 per cent and 0.24 per cent, respectively. However, Nifty Consumer Durables and Nifty Pharma capped some gains.

Foreign institutional investors sold Rs 309 crore worth of Indian equities on a net basis on Friday, while domestic investors bought Rs 1,246 crore of shares, as per provisional NSE data.

On the stock-specific front, Infosys was the top Nifty gainer as the stock jumped 1.50 per cent to trade at Rs 1,284.90. Also, BPCL, HCL Technologies, Apollo Hospitals and HDFC Life climbed up to 1.38 per cent.

In contrast, L&T, Titan, Divi's Lab, ONGC and Reliance Industries slipped up to 1.02 per cent.

The overall market breadth was strong as 1,959 shares were advancing while 1,005 were declining on BSE.

On the 30-share BSE index, Infy, ICICI Bank, TCS, HCL Tech, Bajaj Finance, Airtel, SBI and HUL among the top gainers.

In addition, PTC Industries, Sheela Foam and Suzlon Energy jumped up to 20 per cent.

On the flip side, SRF, Ajanta Pharma, Triveni Turbine, Container Corporation of India and Schaeffler India slipped up to 3.21 per cent.

Sensex had slipped 223 points, or 0.35 per cent, to close at 62,626 on Friday, while Nifty had declined 71 points, or 0.38 per cent, to end the session at 18,563.

Nifty outlook

 

"Rejection trades evolved precisely from 18,676, as feared, but luckily the dips below 18,595 did not lead to a collapse as such. This encourages us to play for a pullback, should we see Nifty floating above 18,595 early in the day. Directional trades will have to wait for 18,720 to be cleared through. Alternatively, in the event of 18,500 giving away, 18,430 will hold only a slim chance of holding with 18,200 emerging as the first downside target, while also raising the vulnerability of the 50-DMA now positioned at 18,047," said Anand James, Chief Market Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.