INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Mumbai: Benchmark equity indices recovered on Monday following a bloodbath in the previous trading session, amid buying in FMCG, auto and
Investors digested the disappointment surrounding the Union Budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday
A fall in crude oil prices and an expansion in India's January manufacturing activity to near eight-year high also kept the sentiment
largest oil importer, following a coronavirus outbreak there, Reuters reported
Brent crude was at $56.44 a barrel, down 18 cents, or 0.3 per cent
It was the highest reading since February 2012 and above the 50-mark separating growth from contraction for the 30th straight month
The 30-share Sensex rose 0.34 per cent or 137 points to settle at 39,872, while the 50-share Nifty rose 0.53 per cent or 62 points to
11,724.
Markets at a glance:Even as the benchmark indices closed higher, the market breadth was weak, with losers beating the gainers in the
ratio of nearly 3:2.
BSE Midcap and BSE Smallcap indices rose 1.05 per cent and 0.08 per cent respectively.
Among sectoral indices, BSE
Consumer Discretionary and BSE Basic Materials were the top gainers, advancing 1.75 per cent and 1.37 per cent respectively.
Nineteen of the
30 Sensex stocks ended in the green
Top private lender ICICI Bank (up 67.69 points) followed next, as it rose 2.20 per cent.
Asian Paints, Nestle India, HUL, Bajaj Auto and
IndusInd Bank were the top Sensex gainers
On the other hand, ITC was the biggest loser
The stock continued its journey downwards and shed another 5.09 per cent after the Finance Minister proposed to hike excise duty on
cigarettes and other tobacco products in the Budget.
TCS and HCL Tech, Hero MotoCorp and Tech Mahindra were among other top losers.
Shares
of Info Edge gained 3.83 per cent after the company said it has acquired stake in Qyuki Digital Media.
Life insurers closed mixed after
seeing steep declines on Saturday, as the Finance Minister offered an option of sharp reduction in tax rates for those who do not avail of
ICICI Prudential Life fell nearly 2 per cent, while SBI Life and HDFC Life dropped 1.73 per cent and 0.49 per cent respectively.
Bharat
Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) rose 4.04 per cent after a senior government official said the government will come out with the expression
of Interest (EoI) inviting bidders for privatisation of the state-run oil marketing company within a few days.
Godrej Properties advanced
absence of any major announcements in the budget may weigh on the investor sentiments in the short-term and we may continue to witness
may continue to cause uncertainty in the markets.
- Ajit Mishra, VP - Research, Religare Broking"Market is finding some sanity after the
setback of not meeting high expectations from the budget, hereon the focus will be on corporate results and global trend
With valuations on the higher side, the on-going results reported has been mostly inline with estimates
Manufacturing PMI shows notable rebound providing a breather that the economy will stabilize as mentioned in the budget."
- Vinod Nair,
Head of Research at Geojit Financial ServicesGlobal markets:Asian shares stumbled, oil skidded and commodities on Chinese exchanges plunged
losses.
European shares opened a tad higher on Monday as investors were relieved that the UK finally exited the EU, although concerns over
the growing Chinese coronavirus dampened enthusiasm, according to a Reuters report
The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.3 per cent.
