Benchmark indices started the week on a positive note amid strong global cues. Sensex ended 226 points higher at 55,555 and Nifty gained 46 points to 16,496. HCL Tech was the top┬а Sensex gainer rising over 4 per cent, followed by TCS, Bajaj Finserv, Nestle India, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Finance and Tech Mahindra.
M&M, Bajaj Auto, UltraTech Cement and PowerGrid were among the top Sensex losers falling up to 2.50%.
Of 30 Sensex shares, 15 closed in green.
On 50 stock Nifty, 22 shares closed higher. HCL Tech, TCS, Nestle India, Bajaj Finserv and ONGC were the top Nifty gainers rising up to 4.26%.
Grasim, Adani Ports, M&M, Eicher┬а Motors and Bajaj Auto were the top losers on Nifty falling up to 3.14%
Shrikant Chouhan, Executive Vice President, Equity Technical Research at Kotak Securities said, “Technically, on intraday charts, the index has formed a double bottom formation. We are of the view that the 10 days SMA or 16450 would be the immediate support for the bulls. As long as Nifty is trading above the same, an upside could lift the index up to 16,550. On the other hand, trading below 16450 could possibly open one more leg of correction up to 16,350-16,300 levels.”
However, BSE midcap and small cap indices fell 204 points and 400 points, respectively.
IT stocks led the gains with BSE IT index rising 389 points to 33,811.
A fall in auto and consumer durables shares capped the gains with their indices losing 278 points and 222 points, respectively.
Market breadth was negative with 777 shares rising against 2,470 stocks ending lower on BSE.
Market cap of BSE-listed firms stood at Rs 237.67 lakh crore.
Meanwhile, rupee gained 17 paise to close at 74.22 against the US dollar, supported by a firm trend in domestic equities and weak American currency overseas.
However, surging crude prices in the international market restricted the rupee’s gain, forex traders said.
At the interbank forex market, the local unit opened at 74.27 and moved in a range of 74.22 to 74.30 in the day trade.
Global markets
France’s CAC 40 edged up 0.6% in early trading to 6,664.67, while Germany’s DAX inched up nearly 0.1% to 15,819.69. Britain’s FTSE 100 added 0.3% to 7,106.04. US shares were set to drift higher, with Dow futures up 0.2% at 35,127.00, while S&P 500 futures edged up 0.2% to 4,447.00.
In Asia, Nikkei 225 rose 1.8% to finish at 27,494.24. South Korea’s Kospi jumped 1.0% to 3,090.21. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 edged up 0.4% to 7,489.90. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng surged 1.1% to 25,109.59, while the Shanghai Composite added 1.5% to 3,477.13.
