Nifty 50, Sensex fail to hold gains; auto, FMCG stocks rise
The Nifty 50 closed 0.11% lower, settling at 23,727, while the Sensex ended with a minor 0.09% drop at 78,472.
Domestic markets, Sensex and Nifty jumped 1 per cent on Monday tracking gains in index majors ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries and Axis Bank amid a mixed trend in global markets.
The BSE S&P Sensex ended 508.06 points or 1.06 per cent higher at 48,386.51, while Nifty jumped 143.65 points or 1 per cent to 14,485.
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On the Sensex pack, Axis Bank was the top gainer rallying over 4 per cent, followed by ICICI Bank, UltraTech Cement, HUL, SBI, PowerGrid, Bajaj Auto and Reliance Industries. On the other hand, HCL Tech, HDFC Bank, Maruti, Sun Pharma and TCS were among the laggards.
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“Domestic equities shrugged off rising COVID-19 cases and rebounded mainly led by sharp recovery in financials,” said Binod Modi, Head Strategy at Reliance Securities.
Barring pharma, most of key sectoral indices traded in green. Strong March quarter performance led ICICI Bank to recovery sharply, while HCL Technologies witnessed sell-off due to subdued 4Q performance, he added.
With 3,52,991 people testing positive for coronavirus infection in a day, the highest so far, India’s total tally of COVID-19 cases has climbed to 1,73,13,163 while active cases have crossed the 28-lakh mark, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Monday.
On the broader front, the S&P BSE midcap and smallcap ended with marginal gains at 0.60 per cent and 0.88 per cent respectively.
Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai and Hong Kong ended in the red, while Tokyo and Seoul were in the positive terrain.
Stock exchanges in Europe were largely trading with losses in mid-session deals.
Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 1.74 per cent lower at USD 64.28 per barrel.
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