Stocks close at over two-week high as tech, metal shares rally

BENGALURU: Indian indices joined a rally in global stock markets to close at a more than two-week high on Monday, led by technology and metal stocks, as easing crude oil prices tempered inflation fears.

The NSE Nifty 50 index rose 0.85% to 15,832.05, and the S&P BSE Sensex climbed 0.82% to 53,161.28, with both the indexes gaining for a third straight session.

“While the change in mood has come as a major relief, the optimism may remain for a few more sessions before the market turns volatile amid concerns over slowing global economy due to rate hikes and continuing foreign fund outflows,” said Shrikant Chouhan, head of equity research ( retail) at Kotak Securities.

Worries around inflation and policy have driven the benchmark indexes down around 4.5% each for the month so far, putting them on track for their worst month since the pandemic-hit March in 2020.

On Monday, the Nifty IT was the best performing sub-index in Mumbai, jumping 2.3% to its highest since June 10, boosted by a 2.8% rise in heavyweight Infosys.

The Nifty Metal index, which has fallen sharply this month, rose 1.5%.

Welspun Corp jumped 4.5% after the steel products maker said it received orders worth ₹600 crore.

Shares of two- and threewheeler maker Bajaj Auto gave up some of the early gains, settling 1.3% higher, as analysts said its ₹2,500 crore ($319.23 million) open market share buyback announcement disappointed investors.

Aurobindo Pharma declined 1% after the drugmaker said that it received a warning letter from the Indian market regulator for not complying with disclosure regulations regarding an US Food and Drug Administration’s audit on its unit.

Food delivery firm Zomato Ltd declined 6.6%, after rising 3.1% in early trade, following a deal to buy local grocery delivery startup Blinkit for ₹4,447 crore ($567.94 million).