Markets gain momentum, recovering some previous losses; Sensex over 56,700, Nifty 50 above 16,900; IT outperforms; HUL, Wipro, Infosys, Titan top bulls

15 Feb 2022 , 10:00 AM

Indian markets paused their previous free fall and picked momentum in the early deals of Tuesday with benchmark Sensex nearing as much as 57,000-mark and Nifty 50 almost earmarking 17,000-mak before correcting.

Domestic equities were driven by a rally in technology stocks offsetting selloff in banking, metal and oil & gas stocks. Also, FMCG and consumer durables stocks contributed to the gains substantially. SmallCap stocks underperformed their counterparts as well.

Markets at home shrugged off weak global cues as traders observe geopolitical turmoil due to Russia and Ukraine, US Federal Reserve monetary policy tightening and China’s central bank aid for economic growth.

Also, markets defied concerns about inflationary pressure in India. CPI Inflation has increased to seven months high of 6.01% in January – breaching the upper tolerance limit of RBI’s inflation target in the medium term.

At around 09.53 am, Sensex was trading 56,707.82 rising by 301.98 points or 0.54%. The benchmark has touched an intraday high of 56,955.09.

Nifty 50 performed at 16,906.40 up by 63.60 points or 0.38%. The benchmark has clocked an intraday high of 16,998.95.

In terms of sectoral indices, on BSE, the IT index surged over 372 points or 1.1%. The FMCG and Consumer Durables index advanced 125 points and 160 points. The Metal and Oil & Gas index dropped nearly 165 points each.

Bulls on Sensex were – HUL, Wipro, Titan, Infosys, Nestle and Tech Mahindra, Kotak Bank, L&T, TCS, HCL Tech and ITC.

Bears on Sensex were – Tata Steel, IndusInd Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and SBI.

Globally, the Russia-Ukraine tension still boils crude oil prices, while fears have taken round over US Fed’s rate hike which is expected to hamper the economic growth. Meanwhile, China’s monetary authority has pumped in 100 billion yuan ($15.7 billion) into the banking system alongside its medium-term lending facility.

Nikkei 225, Hang Seng, KOSPI and ASX 200 are trading lower while Shanghai stayed in the green zone but at a slower pace.

Further, the strengthening of the US dollar and higher bond yields is expected to see some ETF selling in most emerging markets with Asian outperformers now seeing profit booking.

On Wall Street, overnight, US markets logged another weak day as markets react to geopolitical risk with Ukraine/Russia tension adding to the woes of higher rates. Dow Jones closes lower by 170 points after seeing an intraday dip of over 433 points. Nasdaq closes flat after seeing intraday swings of over 250 points. Oil prices touch a 7-year high as WTI hits US$95, while bond yields close to 1.97%.