The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, opened trading in the green on Monday, tracking positive cues as the CPI inflation declined to an 18-month low of 4.7 per cent in April.
At 9.45 am, the BSE Sensex rose 216 points to 62,244 On the other hand, the NSE Nifty50 was trading at 18,370, up 56 points.
On the 30-share Sensex platform, Tata Motors, TechM, HUL, Infosys, Asian Paints, Nestle gained in early morning trading. On the flip side, IndusInd Bank, Sun Pharma, Maruti, NTPC, and Reliance emerged losers.
Among specific stocks, Tata Motors gained over 3.5 per cent on posting a net profit of Rs 5,408 crore in Q4FY23 as against a net loss of Rs 1,033 crore last year. Adani Enterprises lost 3 per cent after the company said it plans to raise Rs 12,500 crore through the qualified institutional placement route.
In the broader markets, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices were nearly flat versus mild uptick in the BSE Sensex.
Sectorwise, Nifty Realty lead by 1 per cent followed by the Auto and IT packs. On the flip side, Nifty Metals, Pharma and PSBs were trading in losses.
In the previous session on Friday, the S&P BSE Sensex, which surged 450 points from the day’s low, settled at 62,028, up 123 points. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty50 shut shop at 18,315, up 18 points.
“Even though the Congress victory in the Karnataka elections was much better-than-expected, it is unlikely to have a negative impact on markets, which in the near-term is driven mainly by FPI inflows backed by improving fundamentals,” said V K Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist, Geojit Financial Services.
In Asia, Tokyo, and Hong Kong markets were trading in the green, while Seoul and Shanghai quoted lower. The US market ended marginally lower on Friday.
Foreign investors have shown strong buying interest in Indian equities in May and invested more than Rs 23,152 crore in the first fortnight. Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 0.84 per cent to $73.55 per barrel.
Meanwhile, the rupee depreciated 6 paise to 82.24 against the US dollar in early trade on Monday, weighed down by the strength of the American currency in the overseas market.
Forex traders said the rupee was trading in a narrow range as the strength of the American currency was negated by a firm trend in domestic equities and easing crude oil prices.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened weak at 82.22 against the dollar, then fell to 82.24, registering a decline of 6 paise over its last close. On Friday, the rupee settled at 82.18 against the dollar.
