Equity markets continued their positive trend on Monday afternoon, building on gains from the morning session as financial services stocks maintained their outperformance. At 12.30 PM, the benchmark Sensex was trading at 74,078.46, up 249.55 points or 0.34 per cent from the previous close. Similarly, the broader Nifty50 index rose by 77.50 points or 0.35 per cent to reach 22,474.70.
The ongoing rally can be attributed to last week’s encouraging inflation data, with February’s reading of 3.61 per cent fueling expectations of potential monetary easing by the Reserve Bank of India. Financial services stocks led the sectoral gains, with the Nifty Financial Services index climbing 1.08 per cent and the banking index adding 0.71 per cent.
On an individual stock level, Bajaj Finserv emerged as the top gainer on the NSE, surging by 3.71 per cent with robust trading volume exceeding 57 lakh shares. Other notable gainers included SBI Life, up by 3.64 per cent, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories gaining 3.04 per cent, Trent adding 2.47 per cent, and Axis Bank climbing 2.23 per cent.
Conversely, state-owned oil retailer BPCL led the list of losers, falling by 2.14 per cent amidst volatile crude oil prices. FMCG major Britannia Industries saw a decline of 1.74 per cent, while IT services provider Wipro dropped 1.55 per cent. Two-wheeler manufacturer Hero MotoCorp and paint maker Asian Paints were also among the top losers, shedding 1.44 per cent and 1.14 per cent respectively.
The market breadth remained negative, with 2,169 stocks declining compared to 1,764 advancing on the BSE. However, the midcap segment displayed resilience with the Nifty Midcap Select index gaining 0.38 per cent.
Technical indicators suggested a sense of caution in the market, with 335 stocks hitting 52-week lows against only 79 reaching 52-week highs. Additionally, 310 stocks hit their lower circuit limits while 194 touched upper circuit levels.
The current market performance is taking place against a backdrop of global trade tensions and record-breaking gold prices, which recently crossed $3,000 per ounce. Analysts are closely monitoring potential headwinds despite the domestic indices holding onto gains from the morning session.
Trading volumes remained moderate across key counters, with investors likely awaiting further cues from global markets and domestic economic indicators as the market approaches closing time.
