Stock, forex, commodity markets shut today to observe Maharashtra Day

Indian stocks, bonds, currency and commodity markets are closed on Tuesday to observe Maharashtra Day. Trading in all markets will resume on Wednesday. On Monday, The Sensex and Nifty posted their biggest monthly gain in over two years as IT stocks such as TCS, Infosys and Wipro gained and strong March quarter numbers from Housing Development Finance Corp (HDFC) and Kotak Mahindra Bank boosted sentiment.

The Sensex closed 0.55 per cent higher at 35,160.36 and was up 6.6 per cent for the month. The broader Nifty ended 0.44 per cent higher at 10,739.35, posting a monthly gain of 6.2 per cent. In the borader market, the BSE Midcap gained 0.6 per cent, while BSE Smallcap added nearly 1 per cent each. Market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, turned positive. On the BSE, 1,401 stocks rallied, 1,260 stocks declined, while 146 stocks remained unchanged.

Foreign institutional investors sold scrips worth Rs 385.47 crore, while the domestic institutional investors purchased stocks worth Rs 261.98 crore, provisional data available with BSE showed.   

Sector-wise, the S&P BSE capital goods index surged by 284.68 points, followed by the IT index which rose 192.94 points, and the fast moving capital goods (FMCG) index by 150.60 points.

On the other hand, the S&P BSE oil and gas index fell by 157.06 points, the energy stocks by 82.69 points and the consumer durables index by 28.66 points.

The major gainers on the Sensex were YES Bank, up 3.90 per cent at Rs 362.05; Hindustan Unilever, up 2.34 per cent at Rs 1,509.05; Tata Consultancy Services, up 2.22 per cent at Rs 3,531.40; Kotak Mahindra Bank, up 1.83 per cent at Rs 1,210.35; and Larsen and Toubro, up 1.73 per cent at Rs 1,400.60 per share.

The top losers were Axis Bank, down 3.87 per cent at Rs 518.05; Reliance Industries, down 3.18 per cent at Rs 963.10; ICICI Bank, down 1.25 per cent at Rs 284.45; Coal India, down 0.60 per cent at Rs 283.85; and ONGC, down 0.14 per cent at Rs 180.50 per share.

Overseas, Asian markets were little changed on Tuesday after Wall Street lost steam late on Monday as worries about rising costs for companies kept investors on edge, despite solid corporate earnings overall.

The market got a small relief after the United States decided to postpone its deadline on steel and aluminum tariffs for the European Union, Canada and Mexico to June.

S&P mini futures traded flat, erasing an earlier loss of 0.2 per cent. Japan’s Nikkei ticked down 0.2 per cent while Australian shares were flat.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan were down 0.2 per cent though most markets in the region are closed for a Labour Day holiday.

(With inputs from agencies)