FIRST TRADE: Sensex trades over 150 pts higher; Nifty tests 19,500; steel stocks rise

Stock market today: The domestic equity market opened in the green on Monday, September 4, amid buying in almost all sectors. In the early trade, the S&P BSE Sensex was trading 186 points, or 0.28 per cent higher at 65,573.04 levels while the NSE's Nifty was ruling 66.5 points higher at 19,501.80 points. 

In a pre-opening comment, Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Research (Retail) at Kotak Securities Ltd, said, "After a roller-coaster ride last week, the benchmark Nifty has formed a double bottom formation on daily and intraday charts, which indicates a strong possibility of a fresh uptrend rally from the current levels. Additionally, a long bullish candle on daily charts supports a further uptrend from the current levels."

"We believe that the corrective pattern of the index has been completed, and it is now primed for a sharp rebound. The range of 19,350–19,325 would act as a critical support zone for the bulls. Above this range, the index could rally to 19,500, and further upside could lift the index up to 19,575–19,675 levels," the expert said.

The strategy should be to buy Nifty between 19,375 and 19,325, with a stop loss at 19,220. For Bank Nifty traders, 44,200 would be the crucial support level, and above this level, it could move up to 45,000. On the flip side, if it falls below 44,200, it could slip to 43,900–43,800. In the case of the Nifty IT index, which is heading towards 31,700 and above, it could see short covering that could propel the index to 32000 and 32500 in the near term, Chouhan added.

BUZZING STOCKS 

IDBI Bank stock was up over 6 per cent in the early trade after the government invited bids to appoint an asset valuer for a stake sale in IDBI Bank.

RVNL shares were up over 8 per cent after the company received an order from Madhya Gujarat Vij Company worth Rs 322 crore. 

Brightcom Group shares hit the lower circuit after the board informed that it was taking appropriate steps to revoke the signatures of M Suresh Kumar Reddy and SL Narayana Raju at every level.

After GQG partners bought a 2.6 per cent stake in the IDFC First Bank the stock was up nearly 2 per cent. 

Eicher Motors shares were up over 1 per cent on the back of better-than-estimated auto sales numbers.

Shree Cement stock was up over  2 per cent after Nomura upgraded its rating on Shree Cement from 'reduce' to 'buy'.

Jio Financial Services stock was up 2 per cent as it exited the T2T segment. 

MOIL stock was up over 1 per cent after the company posted a 53 per cent rise in production in August. 

GLOBAL MARKETS 

Stocks were higher in Asia on Monday after Wall Street was boosted by a report that signalled the US jobs market, while still healthy, is showing some signs of cooling. 

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index jumped 2.4 per cent to 18,828.91 while the Shanghai Composite index added 1 per cent to 3,166.62. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 was up 0.6 per cent at 32,899.99. In Seoul, the Kospi edged 0.2 per cent higher, to 2,569.52. Sydney's S&P/ASX 200 added 0.5 per cent to 7,312.60. 

Shares also rose in Taiwan and Southeast Asia. US markets will be closed on Monday for the Labour Day holiday. On Friday on Wall Street, the S&P 500 finished 0.2 per cent at 4,515.77. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3 per cent to 34,837.71. The Nasdaq composite closed less than 0.1 per cent lower, at 14,031.81, breaking a five-day winning streak.

(with agency inputs)