By Bharath Rajeswaran
BENGALURU (Reuters) -Indian shares rose on Monday, as a rebound in IT and financial stocks outweighed the slide in Reliance Industries following spin-off Jio Financial’s weak trading debut.
The Nifty 50 index settled 0.43% higher at 19,393.60, while the S&P BSE Sensex added 0.41% to 65,216.09.
IT stocks gained 1.09%, rebounding from a 1.47% tumble on Friday on worries about higher U.S. interest rates.
“A lot of good mid-cap IT firms, which were at lofty valuations, have corrected massively in the last 10-12 months making them attractive buy opportunities at the current levels,” said Aishvarya Dadheech, chief investment officer at Fident Asset Management.
Financials rose 0.46% after a seven-day losing run in which they shed about 3%. Bajaj Finance gained 2.75%, snapping a five-session losing streak.
On the flip side, Jio Financial tumbled 5% in its market debut and closed at the lower circuit. That led parent Reliance 1.44% lower, with both stocks among the top Nifty losers.
Adani group stocks climbed between 0.1% and 7%. Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone was up 2.66%, adding to its gains from Friday after GQG Partners raised its stake in the company.
Adani Enterprises advanced 2.42% and powered a 1.30% rise in metal stocks despite concerns over the economic revival in China, the world’s largest metals producer and consumer.
China’s smaller-than-expected rate cut spurred deflation concerns and weighed on the broader Asian markets. [MKTS/GLOB]
“Weakness in dollar index and one more rate hike expectation from Federal Reserve will keep Indian markets range bound, given the weakness in China,” added Dadheech.
The more domestically focussed smallcaps and midcaps outperformed the blue-chips, adding 0.63% and 0.82%, respectively.
“Broader markets are supported by earnings visibility and brisk trading activity on strong near-term returns,” said Deven Choksey, managing director at KRChoksey Holdings, adding that “investors are willing to pay a premium for growth”.
(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Eileen Soreng, Sonia Cheema, and Janane Venkatraman)
