Indian information technology (IT) and bank stocks lifted domestic shares on Monday, while investors awaited the domestic inflation print for clues about the timing of a possible rate cut.
The Nifty 50 index rose 0.66% at 25,127.95 points as of 3:30 p.m. IST, while the S&P BSE Sensex added 0.73% to 81,973.05.
The benchmarks fell about 5% over the last two weeks on worries of escalating Middle East tensions, slowing corporate earnings and foreign outflows.
Ten of the 13 major sub-sector indexes advanced on the day.
Financials and banks, which together have the heaviest weightage on the Nifty 50, gained 1% and 1.3% respectively. They fell 5.2% and 4.9%, respectively, in the last two weeks.
Investors are moving money to financials after their recent underperformance and on anticipation of no negative surprises as the focus shifts to earnings, two analysts said.
Nifty 50 heavyweight HDFC Bank, which jumped 2.3%, was among the top percentage gainers on the benchmark. Its September-quarter earnings report is due this week.
IT firm Wipro rose 4% after announcing a plan to issue bonus shares. This lifted the IT index by 1.3%.
Among other stocks, Larsen and Toubro (L&T) jumped 2% after JP Morgan started coverage with an “overweight” rating and said that the construction bellwether is well placed to navigate capital expenditure cycles in India and the Middle East.
In contrast, Avenue Supermarts slumped 8.5% after the operator of the DMart retail chain posted its slowest revenue growth in four years in the September quarter.
Focus will now be on domestic inflation data for September, due after the closing bell, which is expected to have overshot the central bank’s target.
The print will be parsed for clues on the timing of a rate cut after the Reserve Bank of India last week eased its policy stance to “neutral”, signalling openness to reduce borrowing costs as early as December.
($1 = 84.0720 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Hritam Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Sumana Nandy, Savio D’Souza and Sonia Cheema)