Mumbai: The markets rallied on Monday following firm global cues after trade war worries eased last week. Gaining over 350 points during the day, the Sensex was at 33,630.39 points, up 323.25 or 0.97% at 11am. The 50-share Nifty was trading 102.80 points or 1.01% higher at 10,329.65.
Asian stocks from Tokyo to Sydney gained as trade war concerns took a backseat to economic optimism following a US jobs report on Friday that showed that the American economy continued to strengthen without the prior month’s rapid wage gains that stoked inflation fears. The S&P 500 Index rose on Friday and the Nasdaq Composite Index soared to a fresh record high after US non-farm payrolls data topped forecasts. Strong economic indicators have bolstered the US Federal Reserve’s case for higher interest rates and have given fresh impetus to the bull market in global equities.
However, analysts said that Indian markets will focus on key macro data expected to be released this week. Market participants are cautiously awaiting Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Index of Industrial Production (IIP) data. Vinod Nair, head of research, Geojit Financial Services Ltd, said, “Inflation is expected to come down to 4.74% in February which will ease bond yield in the near term.”
Industrial production data for January, retail inflation or inflation data based on CPI and inflation data based on Wholesale Price Index (WPI) for February will be released this week.
According to a Mint report, industrial production registered robust growth for the second straight month, growing at 7.1% in December, while retail inflation slowed to 5.07% in January, signalling that the Indian economy may be stabilizing. In January, WPI eased in for the second straight month after touching an eight-month high in November aided by slower rise in food and fuel prices.
Meanwhile, foreign investors have started to buy Indian equities after heavy selling seen in February. Foreign institutional investors have bought Indian shares worth $34.21 million, while domestic institutional investors bought Rs128 crore in March so far this year.