Nifty, Sensex Trade Higher As Tata Motors, Coal India, Power Grid Lead Gain: Midday Market Update

Indian benchmark stock indices were trading higher through midday on Monday, tracking gains in shares of Tata Motors Ltd., Coal India Ltd., and Power Grid Corp. of India.

As of 12:13 a.m., the NSE Nifty 50 was 63.95 points, or 0.29%, higher at 21,917.75, while the S&P BSE Sensex rose 114.82 points, or 0.16%, to 72,200.45.

The Nifty 50 hit an intraday high of 21,964.30, and the Sensex touched 72,385.93 so far on Monday.

"For positional traders, the support levels (for Nifty and Sensex) are 21,700/71,800. If the market remains at that level, then it can go up to 22,127/72,700-73,090, which may continue the uptrend further, leading the market to 22,300-22,400/73,800-74000 levels. On the other hand, the sentiment below 21,700/71,800 may change, and if it stays below that, then it may fall towards 21,600-21,500/71,500-71,200 levels," said Shrikant Chouhan, head of equity research at Kotak Securities Ltd.

The strategy should be to reduce long positions between 21,950 and 22,050 levels, while buying is advisable only above the reversal patterns, he said.

The Nifty Bank was trading in negative throughout midday, as shares of Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. and ICICI Bank Ltd. fell.

Intraday, the index declined 0.77% to 45,615.10.

Shares of Coal India Ltd., Power Grid Corp. Of India, NTPC Ltd., Tata Motors Ltd. and Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. were positively contributing to the Nifty.

Bharti Airtel Ltd., ICICI Bank Ltd., Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd., Larsen & Toubro Ltd. and UPL Ltd. were weighing on the index.

Nine of the 12 sectors gained on NSE, while three declined. Nifty Oil & Gas surged 2.69% to become the top performer, while Nifty FMCG fell the most at 0.41%.

Broader markets outperformed benchmark indices; the S&P BSE Midcap gained 0.90% and the S&P BSE Smallcap rose 0.58%.

On BSE, 15 of the 20 sectors gained, while five declined. S&P BSE Oil & Gas gained the most.

The market breadth was skewed in the favour of buyers. Around 2,077 stocks gained, 1,750 shares fell, and 171 stocks remained unchanged on BSE.