Sensex adds 613 pts; Nifty ends above 15,100; MidCap index hits record peak

In the broader market space, the S&P BSE MidCap index zoomed 1.9 per cent to settle at 21,232 after hitting record peak of 21,255 levels earlier today

Stock market updates: Enthused by less than three lakh daily Covid-19 cases for the second straight day, domestic indices advanced over 1 per cent on Tuesday. Automobile and consumer discretionary stocks caught investors' fancy as they hoped that restrictions/curbs would ease once cases decline further. 

Supporting the sentiment were news flows around vaccination front that more and more pharma companies are tying up for vaccine manufacturing. Visibility on economic recovery has largely continued even during the lockdown and now, with restrictions likely to ease, consumer demand is expected to make a come-back, believe analysts.

Given this, the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex soared 613 points, or 1.24 per cent, to end the day at 50,193 levels with only four stocks -- Bharti Airtel, ITC, Dr Reddy's Labs, and State Bank of India -- settling the day in the red.

On the NSE, the Nifty50 index reclaimed the 15,000-mark for the first time since March 12 on a closing basis, and shut shop at 15,108 levels, up 185 points or 1.24 per cent.

M&M (up 6 per cent), Bajaj Auto, Titan, Bajaj Finance, Adani Ports, Tata Motors, and Indian Oil Corporation were the top Nifty gainers today while Airtel, ITC, Coal India, Divis Labs, UPL, and Grasim were the top laggards.

In the broader market space, the S&P BSE MidCap index zoomed 1.9 per cent to settle at 21,232 after hitting record peak of 21,265 levels earlier today. Investors are heading more for mid-cap stocks as growing risk appetite and cheaper valuations of these companies as compared to large-cap peers have revived their popularity.

Individually, Jubilant FoodWorks, Indian Hotels Company and Page Industries from the consumer discretionary space; Ashok Leyland, TVS Motor Company and Bharat Forge from automobiles; AU Small Finance Bank, Muthoot Finance, Shriram Transport Finance Company and Federal Bank from financials; and Adani Transmission, Adani Power and Adani Green Energy from Adani Group were up between 3 per cent and 6 per cent on the BSE. READ MORE

The SmallCap index, meanwhile, ended 1.3 per cent higher at 22,848.

Sectorally, the Nifty Auto index climbed 3.3 per cent on the NSE, followed by the Nifty Energy index (up 2 per cent), and the Nifty Metal index (up 1.7 per cent). On the contrary, the Nifty PSU Bank index and the Nifty FMCG index slipped 1.3 per cent and 0.25 per cent, respectively.

Global markets

European stocks advanced on Tuesday with the pan-European Stoxx 600 up 0.4 per cent. US stock index futures also picked up in early premarket trade; Dow futures added 92 points, while contracts tied to the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 also advanced modestly.

Shares in the Asia-Pacific region also jumped in Tuesday’s trade led by Japan's Nikkei, up 2 per cent; South Korea's Kospi gained 1.3 per cent; and China's CSI300 index adding 0.5 per cent.

5:01 PM

MARKET CLOSING COMMENT :: Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research at HDFC Securities

ndian equity benchmark indices rose for a second day on May 18, tracking most Asian peers and closed at a two month high. Nifty opened with an upgap and made a 94 point high-low range for the day. At close, Nifty 50 Index added 1.24% or 185 points to close at 15108.

 

Volumes on the NSE were above recent average. Among sectors, Capital Goods, Consumer Durables, Power and Auto rose the most while Telecom and FMCG fell. Midcap index outperformed the Nifty.

 

Nifty breached the earlier resistance of 15044 with an upgap and closed with sharp gains. Advance decline ratio was also positive. The next resistance for the Nifty is at 15186-15240 while the support for the near term could come in at 14938-14988. Falling new cases of Covid-19 and faster recoveries has raised hopes that the second wave is now on a decline mode and India shall soon be back on the normal growth path. 

4:52 PM

TECH VIEW :: Nagaraj Shetti, Technical Research Analyst at HDFC Securities

The short term trend of Nifty continues to be positive. The unfilled opening upside gap and a formation of small positive candle could hint at a possibility of profit booking emerging from the highs. Hence, bulls needs to be cautious at the swing highs. Nifty not showing any profit booking in the next couple of sessions could open the next upside levels of 15450-15500 in the near term. Immediate support is placed at 15000 levels.

4:39 PM

TECH VIEW :: Sumeet Bagadia, Executive Director at Choice Broking

Technically, the nifty index has given a Falling Channel breakout and sustained above the prior resistance levels on the daily chart, which suggests bullish strength for the upcoming sessions. Moreover, the index has also taken good support at 100-DMA and settled above Ichimoku Cloud formation, which indicates continued upside move for the long term. An oscillator Stochastic & MACD also suggested positive crossover on the daily time-frame. At present, the nifty index is holding support at 14950 levels while an upside resistance seems at 15300 levels.

4:27 PM

MARKET CLOSING COMMENT :: Ajit Mishra, VP - Research, Religare Broking

Nifty has finally regained momentum after spending nearly two months in a consolidation range and reclaimed the 15,000 mark. The rise can be attributed to a decline in India's COVID cases and stability in the global markets. Among the sectoral indices, banking and auto have witnessed decent traction in the last two sessions after underperforming for nearly a month or two. Indications are in the favor of prevailing up move to continue thus we suggest continuing with the “buy on dips” approach

4:18 PM

MARKET CLOSING COMMENT :: Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services

In anticipation of rapid fall in covid cases, the implication of corporate results and favourable Asian markets, the Indian market has reverted with a strongly after the 3 months of muted performance. Global futures indices rose ahead of the release of the Fed's policy minutes, which is due on Wednesday, in anticipation of accommodative outlook

4:05 PM

TECH VIEW :: Rohit Singre, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities

Index opened a day with a strong gap above its good hurdle zone of 15050 & managed to close a day at 15108 with good gains of more than one percent. Going forwards 15000-14900 will act as a strong base holding above said levels structure will be quite positive also any dip near said levels will be again buying opportunity with keeping overall stop out level below 14900 zone and resistance is coming near 15200-15300 zone

4:03 PM

BSE Snapshot :: M-cap of all BSE listed firms climbs above Rs 216-trillion mark

3:58 PM

Broader market :: BSE SmallCap index ends 1%

3:56 PM

Broader market :: BSE MidCap index hits record high of 21,265 in intra-day deals

3:54 PM

NSE Snapshot :: Top Nifty50 gainers of the day

3:50 PM

RIL, HDFC Bank, Infy remain top contributors towards Sensex's gain today

3:48 PM

Sectoral trends on the NSE

3:42 PM

Sensex Heatmap at Close

Top gainers: M&M, Bajaj Auto, Titan

Top losers: Bharti Airtel, ITC, Dr Reddy

3:34 PM

CLOSING BELL

The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex soared 613 points, or 1.24 per cent, to end the day at 50,193 levels with only four stocks -- Bharti Airtel, ITC, Dr Reddy's Labs, and State Bank of India -- settling the day in the red.

 

On the NSE, the Nifty50 index reclaimed the 15,000-mark for the first time since March 12 on a closing basis, and shut shop at 15,108 levels, up 185 points or 1.24 per cent.

 

3:19 PM

Odisha extends lockdown till June 1 as active coronavirus cases top 100,000

Odisha government on Tuesday announced further extension of lockdown from May 19 till June 1 as the active cases in the state soared past 100,000.

 

However, essential shops will allowed to function from 7 am to 11 am. On weekends, there will be a complete shutdown, starting 6 pm on Fridays till 5 am of Mondays. READ MORE