Opening bell: Sensex up 150 points to open at over 73,800, Nifty above 22,400
Indian shares opened higher on Monday, with the blue-chip Nifty 50 hitting a new record high for the third straight session, led by energy stocks, as strong domestic economic growth aided sentiment.
The blue-chip index NSE Nifty 50 rose as much as 0.28% to a new record high of 22,440.90, while the BSE Sensex added 0.16% to 73,918.72, as of 9:17 a.m. IST.
The rupee appreciated 4 paise to 82.87 against the US dollar in early trade on Monday, amid a weak American currency against major rivals overseas and inflow of foreign funds in the domestic capital markets.
A positive sentiment in the equity markets supported the rupee, though the local unit was weighed down by an upward movement in the crude oil prices, forex traders said.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic currency opened at 82.86 and slipped further to trade at 82.87 against the greenback, registering a gain of 4 paise from its previous close.
On Friday, the rupee settled 2 paise lower at 82.91 against the US dollar.
Gaurang Somaiya, forex and bullion analyst, Motilal Oswal Financial Services, said, the rupee gained primarily as the dollar fell against major crosses and also supported by better-than-expected GDP data on the domestic front.
The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, fell by 0.01 per cent to 103.79.
Somaiya said the dollar index started the month on a weaker note after the US data showed that the manufacturing PMI dropped to 47.8 from 49.1 in January.
“This week, market participants will keep their focus on the US labour market data to gauge a further view on the dollar index. Also focus will be on the Fed chairman’s testimony, wherein any hawkish statement is likely to keep the dollar supported at lower levels. We expect USD-INR (Spot) to trade sideways and quote in the range of 82.80-83.05,” he said.
Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, advanced 0.10 per cent to USD 83.63 per barrel.
In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex was trading 68.88 points or 0.09 per cent higher at 73,875.03 points. The broader NSE Nifty climbed 6.065.65 points or 0.09 per cent to 22,399.40 points.
India’s forex reserves jumped by USD 2.975 billion to USD 619.072 billion for the week ended February 23, the Reserve Bank said on Friday.
A monthly survey released on Friday showed India’s manufacturing sector growth climbed to a five-month high in February amid a sharper uptick in factory production and sales, supported by domestic and external demand.
The seasonally adjusted HSBC India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose from 56.5 in January to 56.9 in February, pointing to the strongest improvement in the health of the sector since September 2023.