Stock Market: Sensex Rises 122 Points, Nifty Trades Below 18,000. Nifty PSU Bank Index Up 1%

Stock update: On the 30-share Sensex platform, HCL, Bajaj twins, TCS, Infosys, UltraCemco, Kotak Bank, and others emerged early winners

In the broader market, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices rose 0.4 per cent each.

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Sensex and Nifty, the two key equity benchmarks, on Monday started in the green during early hours, lifted by positive sentiment.

At 10 am, the S&P BSE Sensex that gained 295 points in early deals, erased some gains and was trading at 60,383, up 122 points. On the other hand, the Nifty50, slipped below the 18,000-mark and was at 17,978, up 21 points.

On the 30-share Sensex platform, HCL, Bajaj twins, TCS, Infosys, UltraCemco, Kotak Bank, and others emerged early winners. On the flip side, M&M, NTPC, PowerGrid, Titan, Axis Bank, and others were the losers.

HDFC Bank shares gained 1 per cent in early deals after the lender reported an 18.5 per cent increase in its standalone net profit at Rs 12,259.5 crore for Q3FY23. NII registered growth of 24.6 per cent on-year to Rs 22,987 crore.

Wipro meanwhile, were up 0.6 per cent as the IT firm posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 3,052 crore for October-December FY23, an increase of 2.8 per cent year-on-year (YoY). Consolidated revenue grew 14.35 per cent to Rs 23,229 crore.

In the broader market, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices rose 0.4 per cent each.

Among sectors, only the Nifty Auto and Metal indices were quoting in the red, falling up to 0.6 per cent. The Nifty PSU Bank index added 1 per cent, followed by the Nifty Bank index (up 0.5 per cent).

The US markets ended at the highest point for the month last week as easing inflation stoked hopes of a slowdown in the pace of US rate hikes. The markets will remain shut for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Nikkei was down a per cent ahead of the Bank of Japan's two-day monetary policy meeting, which begins on Tuesday. Other major peers gained around 0.5 per cent.

In the previous session on Friday, the S&P BSE Sensex recovered 633 points from the day's low and eventually ended 303 points higher at 60,261. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty50 ended 98 points up at 17,957 level after bouncing back from the day's low at 17,774.

Meanwhile, the rupee gained 9 paise to 81.29 against the US dollar in early trade on Monday supported by broad dollar weakness and a firm trend in domestic equities. Forex traders said sustained foreign fund outflows weighed on investor sentiments and restricted the appreciation bias.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 81.29 against the dollar, registering a rise of 9 paise over its previous close. On Friday, it depreciated by 8 paise to close at 81.38 against the US dollar.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.53 per cent to $84.83 per barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital market on Friday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 2,422.39 crore, according to exchange data.