The Indian equity benchmarks were trading on a strong note on Monday led by gains in ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries, Infosys, State Bank of India, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Tata Consultancy Services. The Sensex rose as much as 410 points and Nifty 50 index touched an intraday high of 17,300. The Indian markets were defying the mixed trend prevalent in other Asian markets on hopes of strong consumption demand owing to the ongoing festive season, analysts said.
Asian shares were mixed Monday as investors kept their eyes on the weeklong Communist Party congress in China.
Benchmarks dropped in Tokyo, Sydney and Hong Kong, but they recovered in afternoon trading in Seoul and Shanghai. Mumbai gained. Oil prices and U.S. futures rose.
The meeting in China, which opened Sunday, is expected to reappoint Xi Jinping as leader for the next five years, reaffirming his grip on power and stronger state control over the economy. Analyst expect no change to the “zero-COVID policy.”
“Fresh updates from China’s Party Congress are being scrutinized, with the emphasis on technological advancement and national security seemingly brought up as high priorities for China’s longer-term direction. Further de-coupling from U.S. technology seems to be the story,” said Yeap Jun Rong, market strategist at IG in Singapore.
European markets opened higher following British Prime Minister Liz Truss's partial reversal of her government's economic plan. England's FTSE 100 index rose 0.6 per cent, France's CAC 40 index advanced 0.4 per cent and Germany's DAX gained 0.43 per cent.
Back home, buying was visible across sectors as 13 of fifteen sector gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange were trading higher led by the Nifty PSU Bank index's nearly 3 per cent gain. Nifty Bank, Private Bank, Auto, Financial Services, FMCG and IT indices also rose between 0.5-1.15 per cent.
On the other hand, select metal and real estate stocks were facing selling pressure.
Mid- and small-cap shares were underperforming their larger peers as Nifty Midcap 100 index rose 0.1 per cent and Nifty Smallcap 100 index advanced 0.4 per cent.
Among the individual shares, Electronics Mart India made a blockbuster stock market debut as the stock opened for trading at Rs 89.40, marking an upside of 51 per cent from its IPO price of Rs 59 per share. The stock touched an intraday high of Rs 91 per share on the BSE.
Bajaj Auto was among the top Nifty gainers, the stock advanced 1.7 per cent to Rs 3,631 after the company reported that its net profit rose net profit rose 20 per to Rs 1,530 crore in the quarter ended 30 September, despite the setback it faces in major export markets.
State Bank of India, Infosys, NTPC, Tata Consumer Products, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Eicher Motors, Hindustan Unilever, TCS and Adani Ports also rose between 1-2 per cent.
On the flipside, JSW Steel, Hindalco, Ultratech Cement, Larsen & Toubro, Apollo Hospitals, HCL Technologies, Bharat Petroleum and Britannia Industries were among the losers.
The overall market breadth was negative as 1,866 shares were declining while 1,531 were advancing on the BSE.
