Benchmark indices were trading in the green during the afternoon on Monday.

The market started the week on a positive note, tracking favourable global cues. Indices extended gains in the first half, led by auto, IT, financials and consumer durables.

At 1 p.m., the BSE Sensex was trading at 54,736.09, up 409.7 points or 0.75 per cent. It recorded an intraday high of 54,849.01 and a low of 54,191.55.

The Nifty 50 was trading at 16,352.05, up 85.90 points or 0.53 per cent. It recorded an intraday high of 16,393.45 and a low of 16,207.25.

Dr. VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, said, “The ‘risk-off, risk-on roller coaster market’ is set to continue in the near-term.The rebound in the S&P 500 from the bear market territory last Friday may be an indication that the market is unlikely to turn long-term bearish. Macro numbers from the US in the coming days will be keenly watched by the market. ”

“The government’s aggressive move on inflation by cutting the excise duties on petrol and diesel and other initiatives to soften the prices of steel will slightly reduce RBI’s burden on controlling inflation. Even though this is a positive from the market perspective, the government’s additional borrowing and fiscal deficit shooting beyond the budget estimates are areas of concern,” Dr Vijayakumar added. .

Maruti, Mahindra & Mahindra, Hindustan Unilever, Asian Paints, and IndusInd Bank were the top gainers on the Nifty 50 while JSW Steel, Tata Steel, ONGC, Hindalco and ITC were the top losers.

Metals lose shine

Metals came under pressure after the government on Saturday imposed export duties on steel products. However, the Centre also waived customs duty on the import of some raw materials, including coking coal and ferronickel, used by the steel industry, a move which will lower the cost for the domestic industry and reduce the prices.

Nifty Metal was down over 7 per cent.

On the sectoral front, all indices except Nifty Metal and Nifty Oil & Gas were in the green. The Nifty Oil & Gas was down 0.70 per cent.

Meanwhile, Nifty Auto was up over 2 per cent while Nifty Consumer Durables was up nearly 2 per cent. Nifty Bank, Nifty Private Bank, Nifty Financial Services, Nifty IT and Nifty Healthcare Index were each up over 1 per cent. Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty Pharma were each trading nearly 1 per cent higher.

Broader indices 

As for broader indices, the Nifty Midcap 50 was up 0.82 per cent while the Nifty Smallcap 50 was down 0.04 per cent. The S&P BSE Midcap was up 0.73 per cent while the S&P BSE Smallcap was up 0.27 per cent.

The volatility index rose 0.87 per cent to 23.30.