Benchmark indices moved into positive territory in afternoon trade on Monday as cyclical counters such as public sector banks, auto and metals moved further. Besides, stability in global markets on the back of fall in crude oil prices and hopes of a new round of talks between Russia and Ukraine also supported the sentiment. At the close, the Sensex was up 231.29 points or 0.40 per cent at 57,593.49 and the Nifty was up 69 points or 0.40 per cent at 17222. Around 1051 shares rose, 2268 shares declined and 123 shares remained unchanged.
Bharti Airtel was the top gainer on the Nifty 50 index, up 4 per cent, followed by Coal India, Axis Bank, Eicher Motors, ITC, SBI, ICICI Bank, HUL, IndusInd Bank and Power Grid. On the downside, UPL, Dr Reddy’s Labs, Nestle, HDFC, SBI Life, HDFC Life, HCL Tech and Adani Ports were the top laggards, falling up to 2 per cent. In the broader markets, the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices lost 0.3 per cent and 0.5 per cent, respectively.
Aster DM Healthcare’s share price jumped 10 per cent after the company signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Tamil Nadu for setting up healthcare facilities.
Share prices of multiplex players PVR and Inox Leisure touched their 52-week high, a day after they announced their merger deal to create cinemas with over 1,500 screens.
Bharti Airtel share price rose 3 per cent as the company is going to acquire 4.7 per cent equity in Indus Towers from an affiliate of Vodafone Group Plc at Rs 187.88 per share, with a total transaction of Rs 2,388.06 crore.
GAIL India share price rose 3 per cent as the company’s board of directors is scheduled to meet on March 31 to consider and approve the purchase of fully paid-up equity shares of the company.
Meanwhile, Emami shares tumbled 2 per cent to 52-week low of Rs 442.50 on BSE in intra-day trade on Monday after the company announced acquisition of “Dermicool”, which makes Prickly Heat Powder and One of the leading brands in The cool talc category from Reckitt, excluding taxes and duties, for a total consideration of Rs 432 crore.
S Ranganathan, Head of Research, LKP Securities, said: “The benchmark index reversed morning losses on positive global cues and expectations of RBI opting for status quo in its policy meeting scheduled during the first week of April. Resumption of international flights energized hospitality stocks, while ongoing consolidation in the media sector and a positive tailwind in the telecom space gave ammunition to the Bulls despite an unfavorable advance-fall ratio. The broader markets witnessed keen interest in Gujarat’s state-run enterprises, with most of them posting annual highs.”
global signal
The S&P 500 ended higher on Friday as financial stocks edged higher after benchmark Treasury yields hit a nearly three-year high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 153.3 points, or 0.44 percent, to 34,861.24, the S&P 500 rose 22.9 points, or 0.51 percent, to 4,543.06 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 22.54 points, or 0.16 percent, to 14,169.30.
Tokyo shares opened lower on Monday after nine consecutive sessions of gains, as investors closely watched developments in Ukraine. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 0.39 per cent, or 110.87 points, at 28,038.97 in early trade, while the broader Topix index was down 0.06 per cent, or 1.14 points, at 1,980.33. Toshiyuki Kanayama, senior market analyst at Monex, told Reuters there is “the potential for a profit-taking selloff” even if the rallies on Wall Street should support investor sentiment.
read all breaking news , today’s fresh news And IPL 2022 Live Updates Here.