Sensex opens in green, over 1100 pts up, Nifty above 17,800; HDFC merger in focus
Starting off the week on a strong note, the Sensex soared more than 1,100 points in early trade on Monday, driven by substantial gains in index majors HDFC Bank and HDFC amid mixed trends in Asian markets.
In the morning trade, the 30-share Sensex skyrocketed 1,143.78 points to 60,420.47 points, while broader Nifty 50 too saw bullish trends as it climbed more than 302.20 points to 17,972.65 points. Shares of HDFC climbed 8.37 per cent to ₹2,656.10, while the HDFC Bank stock went up nearly 8 per cent to ₹1,623.65.
In a significant development, HDFC Ltd said it will merge with HDFC Bank. Subsequent to the amalgamation, subsidiary/ associates of HDFC Ltd will become subsidiary/ associates of HDFC Bank, according to a regulatory filing.
Among the Sensex pack, 24 stocks were in the green while 6 scrips were in the red. Besides the HDFC twins, other major gainers in the 30-share pack include Bajaj Finance, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Tech Mahindra, Titan, Larsen & Toubro.
In contrast, Infosys, M&M, Maruti, ITC, UltraTech Cement were among the laggards.
Meanwhile, Asian markets witnessed mixed trends, with Japanese benchmark Nikkei 225 marginally in the red, while Hong Kong’s key Hang Seng and South Korea’s Kospi indices were in the positive territory.
Apart from the RBI policy announcement, scheduled for April 8, the developments linked to the Russia-Ukraine war, crude oil movement, foreign fund flows as well as PMI data for manufacturing and services sectors are expected to influence investor sentiments.
The US markets closed with gains on Friday.
On Friday, the first trading day of 2022-2023, the Sensex soared 708.18 points or a gain of 1.21 per cent to close at 59,276.69 points. The Nifty too climbed 205.70 points or 1.18 per cent to end the day at 17,670.45 points.
Last week, the Sensex surged 1,914.49 points or 3.33 per cent, while the Nifty gained 517.45 points or 3.01 per cent. Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude surged 0.15 per cent to USD 104.55 per barrel.
Foreign portfolio investors pumped in little over ₹1,909 crore in equities on Friday.