Benchmarks at the high point of the day; metal stocks in demand

The domestic equity barometers were currently at the day's high in afternoon trade. The Nifty marched towards the 17,200 mark. Metal stocks extended gains for eight-day in a row.

At 13:24 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 106.11 points or 0.18% to 57,468.31. The Nifty 50 index added 35.95 points or 0.21% at 17,188.95.

Bharti Airtel (up 1.56%), ICICI Bank (up 1.52%), Axis Bank (up 1.49%), Eicher Motors (up 1.41%) and Bajaj Auto (up 1.25%) were the top Nifty gainers.

Dr Reddy's Lab (down 2.12%), Nestle India (down 1.66%), UPL (down 1.55%), HDFC (down 1.22%) and Adani Ports (down 1.04%) were the top Nifty losers.

The broader markets witnessed significant selling pressure. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.51% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index slipped 0.52%.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was weak. On the BSE, shares 1163 rose and 2256 shares fell. A total of 155 shares were unchanged.

Global Markets:

European stocks moved higher on Monday as investors continued to monitor the developments in the war between Ukraine and Russia.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has reiterated that his country is prepared to discuss adopting a neutral status as part of a peace deal with Russia.

Meanwhile, Asian stocks traded in a mixed fashion as coronavirus lockdown in Shanghai looked set to hit global activity, while throwing another wrench into supply chains that could add to inflationary pressures.

U.S. stock benchmarks closed mostly higher Friday, following choppy trade, after oil prices rebounded on the back of reports of a missile strike on a Saudi Aramco facility and as investors continued to weigh rising interest rates.

New York Fed President John Williams on Friday said he would support a half-point move if justified but indicated it was premature to make a call on the size of a future rate increase.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Metal index rose 0.94% to 6,561.05. The index has added 11.01% in eight sessions.

Ratnamani Metals Tubes (up 3.94%), Coal India (up 3.65%), NMDC (up 2.20%), APL Apollo Tubes (up 2.18%), Hindalco Industries (up 1.17%), JSW Steel (up 0.85%) and National Aluminum Co. (up 0.86%) were the top index gainers.

Meanwhile, SAIL (down 2.81%), Jindal Steel & Power (down 2%) and Hindustan Copper (down 0.65%) edged lower.

Vedanta gained 0.91% to Rs 414.30. The board of Vedanta has approved capital expenditure of $687 million in Cairn Oil & Gas to increase near-term volume. The company earmarked a capex of $466 million towards Zinc International's Gamsberg Phase 2 project. The board has also approved an investment of $348 million for an expansion project at its subsidiary ESL Steel.

Adani Enterprises rose 0.32% to Rs 1,873. The company's two units, Mahanadi Mines and Minerals and MP Natural Resources, have won a coal block each in Odisha and Madhya Pradesh.

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