Equity indices on upward climb, auto and metal stocks shine

Equity benchmark indices closed over one per cent higher on Monday amid upbeat news on corporate earnings, economic data and updates on vaccination drive. Market experts said foreign portfolio investors have continued to buy Indian securities as the Union Budget 2021 sparked a strong rally, and there seems to be no reason for them to slow down.

The BSE S&P Sensex closed by 617 points or 1.22 per cent at 51,349 while the Nifty 50 edged higher by 192 points or 1.28 per cent to 15,116. Except for Nifty FMCG and PSU bank which dipped slights, all other sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were in the green with Nifty auto up by 3.2 per cent, metal by 3.1 per cent, IT by 2.1 per cent, realty by 2 per cent and private bank by 1 per cent.

Among stocks, Mahindra & Mahindra moved up by 7.3 per cent to Rs 929.20 per share while Tata Motors accelerated by 6.4 per cent to Rs 336.15. Metal stocks too gained substantially with Hindalco moving up by 6.1 per cent and JSW Steel by 3.4 per cent.

The other major gainers were GAIL, Adani Ports, Bajaj Finserv, Infosys and Bharti Airtel. However, those which lost were Britannia, Hindustan Unilever, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Auto, Cipla and Sun Pharma. Meanwhile, Asian shares were near record highs on hopes a 1.9 trillion dollar Covid-19 aid package will be passed by US lawmakers later this month when coronavirus vaccines are being rolled out globally.

Japan's Nikkei jumped by 2.12 per cent, the highest level since August 1990, as strong corporate earnings lifted investor confidence for economic recovery from pandemic lows. The Shanghai Composite crawled up by 1.03 per cent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng by 0.11 per cent.