Sensex, Nifty end with modest gains; broader markets rally

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Indian benchmark equity indices settled with modest gains on Thursday amid the weekly expiry of derivatives contracts. In a volatile session, Sensex ended at 58,305.07, up 54.81 points or 0.09%, while Nifty ended 15.75 points or 0.09% higher at 17,369.25.

“There is a slight risk-off mode in global markets during the last few days and this has impacted the bullish sentiments in India too. Many experts feel that there can be a correction in the large caps that have been leading the rally this year. So, part of the fresh money is now moving into new areas like PSU banks. But this is likely to be a short-term trend,” said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

Gainers & losers

Sectoral strand

On the sectoral front, Nifty Metal & Nifty FMCG indices advanced 0.73% and 0.72% respectively. While the Nifty IT index rose 0.33% and the Nifty Auto index ended with marginal gains of 0.05%.

On the downside Nifty Realty index declined 0.78%, Nifty Bank fell by 0.29% and the Nifty Pharma index was down 0.15%.

Broader markets

The broader markets outperformed benchmark indices with the BSE MidCap index gaining 138 points or 0.56% to 24,705 after scaling to a new peak of 24,715. Likewise even the BSE SmallCap index touched a new high of 27,658 and settled at 27,645 higher by 143 points or 0.52%.

The market breadth remained in the favour of bulls as 1,842 shares advanced compared to 1,348 declining and 160 remained unchanged.

Economy

S&P Economist for Asia Pacific, Vishrut Rana, speaking at the ‘India Credit Spotlight 2021′, said, “Looking ahead we continue to expect fairly strong economic growth going into calendar Q3 and Q4.”

Meanwhile, Indian government and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Wednesday signed a $300 million loan as additional financing to scale up improvement of rural connectivity to help boost rural economy in Maharashtra. The additional financing for the ongoing Maharashtra Rural Connectivity Improvement Project will help improve an additional 1,100 rural roads and 230 bridges for a total length of 2,900 kilometers in 34 districts.

The Ministry of Finance in a statement said with the additional financing, the overall project will improve the condition and safety of five thousand kilometer of rural roads and over 200 bridges connecting rural communities.

Global markets

US Dow Jones index futures were down 121 points, indicating a weak opening in the US stock market today.

European stocks declined across the board while Asian stocks were mixed on Thursday, 9 September 2021, as investors continue to fret over a slowdown in the recovery from the pandemic.

Investors keenly await European Central Bank (ECB)’s outlook on inflation, interest rates and hints on when it might start tapering its massive asset-purchase program despite uncertainty over economic growth and Covid-19.

In Asia, China’s consumer price index rose 0.8% year-on-year in August. Meanwhile, the producer price index jumped 9.5% from a year ago.