Markets trade higher; Sensex tops 500 pts, Nifty 50 above 16,800; Hero MotoCorp, ONGC, Tata Steel lead

Indian markets traded on a positive note during Thursday’s opening bell after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) raised the repo rate by 40 basis points (bps) to 4.40 per cent in an off-cycle meeting on Wednesday. The domestic equities recorded a broad-based buying with IT stocks outperforming. Consumer Durables stocks was the only laggard during the early trade. Notably, with RBI’s rate hike, the Bank signals removal of pandemic-era monetary stimulus. Also, ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, surging Covid-19 cases continue to remain in focus as corporate earnings also play a role in swaying investors sentiments.

Moreover, globally US Federal Reserve also raised key interest rate by a 50 bps in bid to tame inflation which is also the key factor to impact indian financial markets today.

At around 09:45 AM, Sensex was trading at 56,159.32 up by 490.29 points or 0.88%. The index has touched an intraday high of 56,319.93 in early trade.

Nifty 50, meantime, was performing at 16,826.15 higher by 148.55 points or 0.89%. The index has clocked an intraday high of 16,863.25.

Nifty 50 gainers were – Hero MotoCorp surging by 3.6% followed by ONGC soaring by 3.2%. Tata Steel and Tech Mahindra jumped by 2.5% each. Infosys and SBI gained more than 2% each.

Nifty underperformers were – Tata Consumers, Titan, Nestle, Apollo Hospitals and Hindustan Unilever plunging between flat to 3%.

Stocks like Adani Power, Adani Transmission, Dabur India are in focus ahead of their March 2022 quarterly result scheduled for later today. Other companies that are set to announce Q4 result today are-  Marico, Exide Industries, Happiest Minds Technologies, Indus Towers, TVS Motor Company, Voltas, AAVAS Financiers, Blue Star, Aptus Value Housing Finance India, Blue Dart Express, Borosil Renewables, Computer Age Management Services, CEAT, Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company, DCM Shriram, Firstsource Solutions, Intellect Design Arena, Jindal Stainless (Hisar), MMTC, Punjab Alkalies & Chemicals, Procter & Gamble Health, PNB Gilts, Quick Heal Technologies, Sona BLW Precision Forgings, and Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri.

In terms of sectoral indices, on NSE, the IT index outperformed by strengthening 500 points. Bank and auto index jumped 400 points and 200 points respectively.

On the global front, US markets saw a superb rally. Oversold stocks rally sharply with Dow Jones climbing almost 1000 & Nasdaq jumping over 400 points or 3.2%.