Sensex jumps as bank, pharma, metal stocks lift D-Street: What's driving market today

NEW DELHI: Dalal Street saw an extended 'hope rally' on Monday even as the Covid-19 pandemic continued to rattle the country. Benchmark indices advanced about one per cent thanks to buying in metal and pharma spaces.

The resilience of the market in the midst of the tragic health crisis might appear irrational to most observers. But it is important to discern the cold economic and financial logic that drives markets, which focus on earnings, particularly future earnings, said an analyst.

“Trends indicate robust future earnings, particularly from segments like IT, pharma, leading financials and metals. Consumer discretionary is, however, on a sticky wicket. This segment, particularly autos, might witness earnings downgrades," said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

How are the blue chip stocks doing?
After opening in the green, benchmark indices moved higher. At 9:25 am, BSE flagship Sensex was up 367 points or 0.75 per cent at 49,574. NSE benchmark Nifty 50 gained 114 points or 0.77 per cent to 14,937.

In the 50-share pack Nifty, Tata Steel was the biggest gainer, up 2.83 per cent. Hindalco, Coal India, Dr Reddy’s Labs, Indian Oil, HDFC, ONGC, UPL, Tata Motors and BPCL were among other gainers.

Tata Consumer was the top loser in the pack, down 0.79 per cent. UltraTech Cement, Britannia, Nestle India, SBI Life Insurance, Infosys and Bajaj Finance were other losers in the pack.

FACTORS DRIVING MARKET
Good news

• Dollar falls: The dollar index languished near a more than two-month low versus major peers. Fall in the greenback means more money flow to emerging markets.
• No tapering yet: The 2,66,000 jobs that US firms added in April were "nowhere near" what was expected, a Federal Reserve official said on Friday, and added little to the "substantial further progress" officials want to see before considering changes to monetary policy.

Bad news

• Covid rampage: India recorded 3,66,317 new Covid-19 cases until 11.37 pm on May 10. As many as 3,747 new deaths were also registered. The country has so far reported a total of 2,26,62,410 cases and 2,46,146 deaths.

Broader markets
Broader market indices traded higher, in line with their headline peers in morning deals. Nifty Smallcap was up 0.90 per cent while Nifty Midcap rose 0.30 per cent. The broadest index on NSE, the Nifty 500, climbed 0.70 per cent.

SAIL, Manappuram Finance, Jindal Steel, IRB Infra, Trident and Balrampur Chini Mills were gainers from the space while Century Ply, APL Apollo, CEAT, SRF, AU SFB and IRCTC were under selling pressure.

Global markets
Shares in other Asian markets mostly rose following a record close on Wall Street as a well-below-forecast US jobs report eased inflation concerns, while oil prices climbed more than one percent after a crucial US pipeline was put out of action by a cyber attack.

Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Seoul, Sydney, Manila and Jakarta all rallied in early trade, though there were small losses in Singapore, Wellington and Taipei.