Markets extend gains for the second day; RIL, HDFC duo lead charge

Equity indices made a winning start to the week on Monday, buoyed by robust buying in banking, metal and energy stocks amid a mixed trend overseas.

A surging rupee, which snapped its four-day losing streak, also boosted the bulls, traders said.

Rising for the second straight session, Sensex closed 395.33 points or 0.75 per cent higher at 52,880. Similarly, the broader Nifty surged 112.15 points or 0.71 per cent to 15,834.35.

State Bank of India was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, climbing 1.92 per cent, followed by Tata Steel, L&T, Bajaj Finserv, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finance, M&M and ICICI Bank.

In value terms, Reliance Industries, HDFC twins and ICICI Bank accounted for most of the gains for the benchmark. On the other hand, Tech Mahindra, Dr Reddy’s, HCL Tech, Titan, Bharti Airtel, TCS and Sun Pharma were the laggards, sliding up to 1.34 per cent.

“Domestic indices witnessed a gap-up opening and maintained the levels despite mixed sentiments seen in global equities. In line with contraction in manufacturing PMI, India’s Service PMI for June fell to 41.2 against 46.4 in May, having no negative impr­ession on the market,” said Vinod Nair, head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

“A strong US job data signalled that the economy is recovering at a steady pace, which eased concerns over an earlier-than-expected interest rate hike by the Fed. The overall optimism boosted appetite for most sectors barring IT and Pharma, while small and mid-cap stocks continued their outperformance,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

India’s services sector activities contracted further in June as the intensification of the COVID-19 crisis and reintroduction of containment measures restricted demand, a monthly survey showed.

The seasonally adjusted India Services Business Activity Index fell from 46.4 in May to 41.2 in June, as new work intakes and output contracted at the fastest rates since July 2020, which prompted companies to reduce employment again.

According to Binod Modi, Head – Strategy at Reliance Securities, while improving business momentum with ease of curbs has started offering comfort to the markets, a moderate rise in daily COVID-19 caseload in various states and increasing positivity rates in many districts can be a fresh worry in the near term.

Barring power, all BSE sectoral indices closed in the green, led by realty (2.84 per cent), metal (1.49 per cent), bankex (1.13 per cent) and basic materials (1.01 per cent).

In the broader markets, the BSE mid-cap and small-cap gauges advanced up to 0.78 per cent.

World stocks were mixed as rising coronavirus cases in many countries due to the Delta variant dampened optimism over positive macroeconomic data from the EU and US.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai and Seoul ended with gains, while Hong Kong and Tokyo closed in the red.

Equities in Europe were trading on a mixed note in mid-session deals.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.35 per cent higher at USD 76.44 per barrel.

The rupee snapped its four-day losing streak to settle 43 paise higher at 74.31 against the US dollar.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)