Sensex Today: Equity markets swung between gains and losses on Monday as investors awaited outcomes of the Reserve Bank of India’s monetary policy meeting, and Assembly elections of Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, due later this week.
The S&P BSE Sensex oscillated in a range of 432 points before closing at 62,835, down 34 points or 0.05 per cent. The Nifty50, too, shut shop little changed at 18,701, up 5 points or 0.03 per cent, after a volatile trade.
In the broader markets, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices added 0.10 per cent and 0.25 per cent, respectively.
Among individual stocks, Tata Steel (up 3 per cent), NTPC, SBI, IndusInd Bank, and Power Grid were the top Sensex gainers, while RIL (down 1.45 per cent), Tech M, Dr Reddy’s Labs, Bharti Airtel, Axis Bank, and TCS were the top laggards.
Within the mid- and small-cap space, M&M Financial Services, SJVN, Aditya Nirla Capital, Bajaj Hindustan Sugars, SEPC, Sadbhav Engineering, and Satin Credit Care were the winners.
Sectorally, the Nifty Metal index gained nearly 2 per cent as easing Covid-19 related restrictions in China boosted hopes of global commodity demand.
On the downside, the Nifty IT index slipped 0.7 per cent.
Indian rupee closed 48 paise lower at 81.79 per dollar on Monday against Friday’s close of 81.31.
V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, said: “The better-than-expected US job numbers in November were surprisingly ignored by the market with the S&P 500 ending flat. This message from the market indicates that the Fed is unlikely to reverse its well-telegraphed slower pace of tightening. The market doesn’t see the terminal rate going above 5 per cent. In India there are signals that this is a market trending higher, in spite of the high valuations. The upcoming MPC decision and more importantly the RBI’s message will be keenly awaited by the market. The mid and small cap rally is likely to gather momentum.”
Global Cues
In Asia this morning, the Hang Seng index rose 3 per cent to lead gains after virus testing rules were eased in some Chinese cities. Shanghai Composite was up 1 per cent, Nikkei 0.14 per cent and Strait times 0.4 per cent.
In the US on Friday, the markets had reversed all losses to close on a tepid note. The Dow ended up just 0.1 per cent. The S&P 500 dipped 0.1 per cent and Nasdaq 0.2 per cent.
Back home, the Street will track services PMI data for India as well as the US today.
Besides, the OPEC+ on Sunday decided to stick to its existing policy of reducing oil production by 2 million barrels per day from November until 2023-end.
Brent crude futures were 2 per cent higher this morning at $87 per barrel level.
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