Sensex reclaims 41,000-mark, Nifty above 12,000-level in morning trade on strong Asia cues; Airtel, RIL among top gainers

Equity benchmark indices traded higher during early hours on Monday following Asian stocks which were up on the rise in manufacturing activity in China.

#CNBCTV18Market | Benchmark indices open higher, #Nifty above 12,000

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Market benchmark BSE Sensex appreciated by over 130 points while Nifty 32 points in early trade on Monday despite headwinds in form of weak Gross Domestic Product (GDP) numbers, sliding rupee and rising crude prices. The Sensex regained 41,000-mark in the early hours of trading when it touched 41,005.61 after 9.30 am. It remained above the 41,000-mark only for a short time and started declining. However, a rally in other Asian stock markets supported the domestic market, dealers said. [caption id=“attachment_4416807” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representative image. Reuters[/caption] The 30-share index was trading 59.19 points, or 0.15 percent, higher at 40,853.00 in the late morning session. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty was quoting 6.35 points, or 0.05 percent, up at 12,062.40. Bharti Airtel emerged as the top gainer by surging 7.92 percent after it announced to hike tariffs from December 3, followed by Reliance, Tata Motors, HUL, IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank, Infosys and TCS. On the other hand, TechM was was the biggest loser (2.55 percent) in the Sensex pack, followed by ONGC, Bajaj Finance, PowerGrid, Tata Steen and Sun pharma. On Friday, the BSE benchmark Sensex plummeted 336.36 points or 0.82 percent to close at 40,793.81. Likewise, the broader NSE Nifty also settled 95.10 points or 0.78 percent down at 12,056.05. India’s second-quarter GDP growth slowed sharply to 4.5 percent, the weakest pace in more than six years, as manufacturing output hit a slump and consumer demand as well as private investment weakened. Meanwhile, the rupee depreciated 4 paise against the US dollar to trade at 71.78 in early session. Brent futures, the global oil benchmark, surged 1.22 percent to $61.23 per barrel. Foreign institutional investors offloaded shares worth Rs 1,892.29 crore in the capital market in the previous session, while domestic institutional investors bought equities worth Rs 953.62 crore, data available with stock exchange showed. Meanwhile, the global shares rose on Monday and oil rebounded after upbeat China manufacturing surveys and as investors clung to hopes Beijing and Washington could reach a compromise in trade talks. MSCI’s index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gained 0.46 percent, reclaiming some of its loss on Friday while Japan’s Nikkei jumped 1.11 percent. US stock futures gained 0.31 percent to near-record highs after a dip in a truncated U.S. session on Friday due to Thanksgiving holiday. Mainland Chinese shares also went higher, with the bluechip index rising 0.59 percent from a three-month low hit on Friday. The market enjoyed a boost after the Caixin/Markit Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) index rose to 51.8 in November from 51.7 in the previous month, marking the fastest expansion since December 2016. The rupee opened on a cautious note and fell 4 paise to 71.78 against the US dollar in early trade on Monday as economic growth concerns and rising crude oil prices kept investors edgy. Forex traders said investors traded cautiously after India’s Q2 GDP growth dipped to over 6-year low of 4.5 percent. India’s GDP growth hit an over six-year low of 4.5 percent in July-September 2019, dragged mainly by deceleration in manufacturing output and subdued farm sector activity, according to official data released on Friday. On Saturday, China announced that its manufacturing sector expanded in November for the first time in seven months. — With inputs from agencies