Sensex rallies 446 pts; Nifty reclaims 17,800 mark; ONGC spurts 10%

The equity benchmarks recovered from early lows and climbed for the second session in a row. Oil & gas stocks rallied due to firm crude oil prices. IT stocks were also in demand amid weak rupee. Meanwhile, pharma and realty shares witnessed selling pressure.

The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, jumped 445.56 points or 0.75% to 59,744.88. The Nifty 50 index added 131.05 points or 0.74% to 17,822.30.

After opening lower, the indices traded near the flat line in the first half of the session. The barometers picked up steam in afternoon trade, tracking positive European shares.

The broader indices lagged the benchmarks. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.33% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.54%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,073 shares rose and 1,210 shares fell. A total of 166 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of market's expectation of volatility over the near term, fell 2.01% to 16.3975.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 235,389,736 with 4,808,886 deaths. India reported 252,902 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 449,260 deaths according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

A total of 91,49,94,809 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered in the country so far, with over 72.32 lakh doses being given yesterday, according to the Co-WIN dashboard.

India Services PMI:

The seasonally adjusted India Services Business Activity Index posted 55.2 in September, highlighting a marked increase in output. Despite falling from August's 18-month high of 56.7, the latest reading remained well above its long-run average. Where activity growth was reported, panellists mentioned accommodative market conditions and favourable underlying demand amid the easing of COVID-19 restrictions.

Numbers to Track:

In the foreign exchange market, the partially convertible rupee fell to 74.44 from its previous closing of 74.31.

MCX Gold futures for 5 October 2021 settlement fell 0.52% to Rs 46,643.

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper (06.10 GS 2031) was currently at 6.261% as compared with its previous closing of 6.248%.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.19% to 93.95.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for December 2021 settlement rose 47 cents or 0.58% to $81.73 a barrel.

Global markets:

The US Dow Jones index futures were up 133 points, indicating a strong opening in the US market today.

European shares rose across the board while Asian stocks ended mixed on Tuesday. Markets in mainland China are closed through Thursday for the Golden Week holidays.

U.S. stock benchmarks tumbled on Monday as concerns about sticker-than-expected inflation grow on rising oil prices. A selloff for stocks deepened Monday, with markets succumbing to pressure in technology and tech-related stocks.

On Monday, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies kept their current agreement to gradually raise crude production each month, including a 400,000 barrels a day increase in November.

New orders for US-made goods accelerated in August. The Commerce Department said on Monday that factory orders increased 1.2% in August. Data for July was revised higher to show orders rising 0.7% instead of gaining 0.4% as previously reported.

Stocks in Action:

State-run oil explorers, ONGC (up 10.91%) and Oil India (OIL) (up 0.64%) rallied.

Reliance Industries rose 2.08% to Rs 2609.10.

Higher crude oil prices boost oil explorers' average realisation from every barrel of the oil sold.

Among IT shares, HCL Technologies (up 2.29%), MphasiS (up 2.02%) and L&T Technology Services (up 1.03%) advanced.

IT major TCS (up 1.66%) will announce Q2 results on Friday, 8 October 2021.

Infosys (up 0.81%) will announce Q2 results on 13 October 2021.

Weak rupee boosts revenue of IT firms in rupee terms as the sector derives a lion's share of revenue from exports.

Bharat Forge fell 2.59% after North America Class 8 truck orders slipped 11.69% year-on-year and fell 28.68% month-on-month to 28,100 units in September 2021.

Srei Infrastructure Finance hit a lower circuit of 5% to Rs 8.17. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday superseded the board of directors of Srei Infrastructure Finance (SIFL) and Srei Equipment Finance (SEFL), wholly owned subsidiary of SIFL, and has appointed Bank of Baroda's former chief general manager Rajneesh Sharma as the administrator.

HFCL hit an upper circuit of 5% at Rs 79. The company has bagged an order amounting to approximately Rs 287.96 crore from RailTel Corporation of India for setting up of secured optical packet switched network for the defence forces.

IRCON International jumped 5.32%. The company with its JV partner has emerged as the lowest bidder valuing Rs 3429 crore in the tender floated by National High Speed Rail Corporation (NHSRCL) for the design and construction of 18.133 km of viaduct involving Ahmedabad Station and Sabarmati Station and associated works for the project for construction of Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail.

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