The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Monday were trading flat amid volatility and profit booking in financial and FMCG stocks. At 10.20 am, the BSE Sensex was down 10 points to 65,376. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty50 was trading at 19,454, up 18 points.
On the 30-share Sensex platform, Tata Steel, UltraCemco, JSW Steel, NTPC, L&T, Maruti were among the early gainers. On the downside, Asian Paints, ICICI Bank, M&M, Sun Pharma, Titan, Nestle, Tata Motors emerged losers. Among specific stocks, IDBI Bank jumped nearly 6 per cent after the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management said it has invited bids to appoint an asset valuer for the lender’s stake sale. RVNL surged nearly 7 per cent after the firm won a Rs 282 crore order from Madhya Gujarat Vij (MGVCL) for full Turnkey contract for development of distribution infrastructure work for loss reduction at Dahod.
In the broader markets, the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices added 0.48 per cent and 0.69 per cent, respectively.
All sectoral indices are trading in the green, with metal index up nearly 3 per cent and realty index up 1 per cent. Nifty PSU Bank and Realty indices also rose 0.7 per cent each, followed by the Nifty Auto index (up 0.3 per cent).
In the previous session on Friday, the S&P BSE Sensex surged 556 points to close at 65,387, while the Nifty50, ended at 19,435, up 182 points.
In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai, and Hong Kong were trading with gains. The US markets ended mostly in the positive territory on Friday.
Manufacturing activities in India gained momentum in August as new orders and output increased at the quickest rates in nearly three years, according to a survey released on Friday. GST collections grew by 11 per cent to over Rs 1.59 lakh crore in August on the back of improved compliance and reduced evasion, with experts forecasting higher mop-up to continue in the upcoming festive season.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.05 per cent to $88.59 a barrel.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were buyers on Friday as they bought equities worth Rs 487.94 crore, according to exchange data.
Meanwhile, the rupee depreciated 15 paise to 82.77 against the US dollar in early trade on Monday as firm crude oil prices weighed on investor sentiments. At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 82.71, then touched 82.77, registering a decline of 15 paise over its last close.
On Friday, the rupee had settled at 82.62 against the dollar. Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, fell marginally by 0.06 per cent to 104.17.