Ajit Karn
Mumbai: The major equity benchmark indexes started the trading day on Monday with gains, following a generally upward trend in Asian markets. The BSE Sensex achieved a new high of 61,168.47, representing a gain of 165.9 points. The NSE Nifty reached a new high of 17,979.45, an increase of 35.25 points.
Power Grid, HCL Technologies, ITC, Bharti Airtel, Hindustan Unilever, ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, NTPC, and HDFC Bank were the most successful companies from the Sensex pack.
The prominent companies that fell behind their competitors include Tata Steel, Wipro, Nestlé, Bajaj Finserv, Titan, and Bajaj Finance.
Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, and China were all trading in the positive area among the Asian markets.
On Friday, the financial markets in the United States closed with a mixed performance.
“Markets may log steady gains in early trade on Monday as investors are likely to take cues from the optimism in SGX Nifty and other select Asian peers,” said Prashanth Tapse – Research Analyst, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd. “Even though the key US indices closed mixed on Friday, investors are likely to take cues from the optimism in SGX Nifty and other select Asian peers,”
However, judging by the turbulent journey that the markets have been on over the past few weeks, Mr. Tapse believes that the markets are likely to continue to have a rough ride as a result of fears over additional increases in interest rates and the potential of a slowdown in global growth.
On Friday, the benchmark for the 30-share BSE fell by 316.94 points, which is equivalent to a 0.52 percent loss, to finish at 61,002.57. After the market’s close, the broader Nifty fell 91.65 points, or 0.51 percent, to 17,944.20.
Brent crude, which is used as a benchmark for international oil prices, increased by 0.65% to $83.55 a barrel.
According to the statistics from the market, foreign portfolio investors (also known as FPIs) sold shares on Friday totaling 624.61 crore rupees.
