Sensex ends 514 points higher, Nifty hits lifetime high; metals, financial stocks lead

• Follow

After opening in the red on Monday, Indian benchmark equity indices recouped the early losses led by fresh buying across metals, banking, financials and FMCG counters. The investor sentiment was further boosted as daily fresh Covid caseload dropped to the lowest in 50 days with 1,52,734 cases.

Sensex settled 514 points or 1% higher at 51,937. After hitting an intraday high of 15,606, the broader Nifty 50 settled 147 points or 0.95% higher at its fresh closing record of 15,582.80.

“With European markets closing at record highs, we had a strong opening today and the bulls stepped up the accelerator during trade led by the oil & gas sector as heavyweight Reliance stole the show helping indices notch up a percentage gain. Corporate profits to GDP ratio at a decade high last fiscal lent steam to the rally. The broader markets exhibited buoyancy with segments like NBFC’s, metal stocks & pathology labs witnessing investor interest,” said S Ranganathan, Head of Research at LKP Securities.

Gainers & losers

Among the gainers, index heavyweight RIL led the pack surging over 3% followed by ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel, Dr Reddy’s & Maruti. On the other hand, stocks like M&M, Infosys, L&T, IndusInd Bank & Tech Mahindra were the laggards and slipped anywhere between 0.4-4.5%.

Buzzing sectors

The Nifty Metal index was shining bright after rallying over 2% and the Nifty Realty index jumped 1.37%. Likewise Nifty Bank & Nifty FMCG indices rose 1.1% & 1.01, respectively. The Nifty Pharma index was up around 0.85%. On the downside, the Nifty Auto index slipped 0.18% and the Nifty IT index ended with a marginal loss of 0.03%.

Meanwhile, the volatility index India VIX cooled off further by almost 3% and ended at 16.88 levels.

Broader market

The broader market underperformed benchmark indices as BSE Midcap and the BSE Smallcap index gained around 0.50%. However, bulls had an upper hand in the market today as 1,094 stocks advanced versus 885 shares declining and 333 scrips remained unchanged.

Monsoon date 

India Meteorological Department (IMD) has said that the onset of monsoon in Kerala is likely to take place by June 3, 2021. Earlier, it had predicted the arrival of monsoon over Kerala by May 31, 2021.

As per the latest meteorological indications, the south-westerly winds could strengthen further gradually from June 1,  resulting in a likely enhancement in rainfall activity over Kerala. Hence, the onset of monsoon over Kerala is likely to take place by June 3.

Global markets

Bourses in Shanghai and Seoul ended on a positive note, while Hong Kong and Tokyo were in the red.

Equities in Europe were trading on a mixed note in mid-session deals.

Markets in the US are closed on Monday for a holiday. US stocks climbed on Friday as investors brushed off a stronger-than-expected inflation reading.