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Benchmark equity indices BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty kicked off the day in the green on Monday amid mixed global cues and robust inflows by foreign institutional investors. The 30-share BSE Sensex opened 131.33 points, or 0.25% higher at 52,231, while the 50-share Nifty index was up 54.85 points, or 0.35%, at 15,725.10.

As many as 25 stocks in the Sensex pack traded in the green. ITC, up over 1%,  was the top Sensex gainer followed by Titan (up 0.80%), ONGC (up 0.78%) and Mahindra & Mahindra (up 0.69%). On the other hand, Bajaj Finance and Bajaj Finserv were down over 1%.

Among the sectoral indices on BSE, the Auto and Metal indices were up 0.99% and 0.96%, respectively. The BSE Telecom, Oil & Gas, Power, Realty and Capital Goods were also advanced over 0.50% in the early trade.

VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services said, “News is positive for markets. Since the US jobs numbers have come lower than expected the Fed is likely to continue its accommodative stance with no indications about tapering. So the US 10-year yield is likely to remain stable with a negative bias till Thursday when the US inflation numbers will be released. FIIs have come back strongly this month with net equity purchases worth Rs 7,967 crore till June 4. Frenzied retail participation is imparting resilience to markets.”

Meanwhile, GST collections in May at Rs 1.02 lakh crore came as a surprise since May was a month of subdued economic activity. This is a reflection of the underlying strength and growth impulses in the economy.

“Economic activity is likely to gather momentum as most states are gradually opening up since fresh Covid cases have fallen. From the perspective of valuation and improving prospects, financials are better placed now. IT, pharma, metals, cement and chemicals are likely to sustain their strength,” Vijayakumar said.

Global markets:

Overseas, Asian stocks traded mixed in the morning trade as investors looked ahead to Chinese trade data for May. Markets in Malaysia and New Zealand are closed today for holidays.

US stocks closed higher Friday after the May nonfarm-payrolls report showed a less-than-expected gain, leading investors to bet that the Federal Reserve will maintain its easy-money policies for longer.

The US economy added 559,000 jobs in May, the Labor Department said on Friday. The number came in slightly lower than an estimated from economists, but still showed a healthy rebound in the labour market. It’s an improvement from the upwardly revised 2,78,000 payrolls added in April.

The unemployment rate fell to 5.8% from 6.1%, which was better than the estimate. As per reports, the jobs report, while solid, is not strong enough to trigger the Federal Reserve to dial back its bond-buying program.