Benchmark indices were trading over 1 per cent higher during the afternoon on Monday, led by auto and financials.
Market began the first session of the year 2022 on a firm note, spurting up during the early trade. Several markets in Asia and Europe remain closed today. Indices gained further in the first half, led by strong gains in auto stocks.
At 1:01 pm, the BSE Sensex was trading at 59,017.94, up 764.12 points or 1.31 per cent, near the day's high of 59,032.50. It recorded an intraday low of 58,306.45. The Nifty 50 was trading at 17,574.40, up 220.35 points or 1.27 per cent, near the day's high of 17,579.20. It recorded an intraday low of 17,383.30.
Eicher Motor, Coal India, Bajaj Finserv, Tata Motors and Axis Bank were the top gainers on the Nifty 50 while Cipla, Dr Reddy, Divi's Lab, M&M
and Titan were the top laggards.
Investor sentiments were also impacted by the PMI data for December. The headline number of the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for manufacturing slipped to 55.5 in December from 57.6 of November. Still, the quarterly (October-December) reading was at 56.3, its highest since the final quarter of fiscal year 2020/21.
Investors also remain cautious regarding the spike of Omicron cases in the country.
Pharma under pressure
On the sectoral front, all indices except Nifty Pharma and Nifty Healthcare Index were in the green. Auto, financials, realty and oil & gas stocks recorded higher gains.
Nifty Auto was up 1.67 per cent. Nifty Bank, Nifty Private Bank and Nifty Financial Services were up nearly 2 per cent each. Nifty PSU Bank was up 1.5 per cent.
Nifty Realty was up 1.65 per cent while Nifty Oil & Has was up 1.02 per cent.
Meanwhile Nifty Pharma and Nifty Healthcare Index were down 0.29 per cent and 0.34 per cent, respectively.
Broader indices
Broader indices were in the green.
Nifty Midcap 50 was up 1.25 per cent while Nifty Smallcap 50 was up 1.50 per cent. The S&P BSE Midcap was up 1.07 per cent while the S&P BSE Smallcap was up 1.26 per cent.
The volatility index rose 1.83 per cent to 16.52.