Indian benchmark indices are opened on a strong note on account of strong opening in the Asian markets and fall in pandemic cases with SGX Nifty up 150 points. The metal index added over 2 percent while the midcap and smallcap indices were up a percent each.
Topping the 50,000 mark in the opening session, the 30-share BSE index was trading 601 points or 1.21 percent higher at 50,181.73. The Nifty50 rose above 15,100.
At 9:18 am, the Sensex was up 567 points at 50,148 while the Nifty rose 152 points to 15,075.
In the previous session, Sensex zoomed 848.18 points or 1.74 percent to end at 49,580.73; and Nifty surged 245.35 points or 1.67 percent to settle at 14,923.15.
On Tuesday, Bajaj Finance, IndusInd Bank, and PowerGrid rose over 2 percent, each, and were the top Sensex gainers.
The Nifty sectoral indices were positve, led by Nifty Metal index, up 2.2 percent.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital market as they offloaded shares worth Rs 2,255.84 crore on Monday, as per provisional exchange data.
According to V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, the positive trigger for the market now is the steadily declining fresh COVID cases and the steadily rising recovery rates.
"The latest numbers (2.62 lakh fresh cases and 4.22 lakh recoveries) indicate a continuation of this positive trend. The market is discounting progressive lifting of the widespread lockdowns starting in early June. Even though growth and earnings will be impacted in Q1, smart recovery can be expected in the subsequent quarters," he said.
In the last trading session Nifty 50 opened gap-up above 14,750 zone and moved in the northward direction throughout the session. It snapped its losses of the last three sessions and closed near its day’s high with handsome intraday gains of around 250 points and formed a healthy bullish candle, said Mohit Nigam, Head, PMS, Hem Securities.
Large buying from domestic institutions seen in yesterday’s session. US stocks fell for the first time in three sessions as investors mulled risks to the economic outlook including inflation and a spike in COVID-19 cases in parts of the world.
Key companies announcing their quarterly results today includes Tata Motors, Canara Bank, Aarti Industries, Abbott India, Torrent Pharmaceuticals, Ujjivan Small Finance Bank etc. Immediate support for Nifty 50 is 14,800 .The Nifty should close above 15,000 to continue the bullish trend.
Asian markets up
Asian shares were up shrugging off worries about an increase in regional coronavirus infections and a subdued session on Wall Street, while inflation jitters helped push gold prices to three-month highs, Reuters said.
Equities on Wall Street ended with losses in overnight trade.
Bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul were trading on a positive note in mid-session deals.
The Japanese economy contracted at an annual rate of 5.1 percent in January-March, slammed by a plunge in spending over the coronavirus pandemic, according to government data released Tuesday.
The Taiex in Taiwan surged 3.28 percent. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 also saw robust gains as it jumped 2.12 percent while the Topix index advanced 1.49 percent.
The International oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.39 percent higher at $69.73 per barrel.
COVID impact bigger on aggregate demand: RBI
The economic slowdown is not as severe as when the pandemic struck in 2020, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said in its monthly bulletin. However, it said COVID-19 second wave has had a bigger impact on aggregate demand than on aggregate supply.
"The biggest toll of the second wave is in terms of a demand shock - loss of mobility, discretionary spending and employment, besides inventory accumulation, while the aggregate supply is less impacted. The resurgence of COVID-19 has dented but not debilitated economic activity in the first half of Q1:2021/22," it added, Reuters reported
