After a volatile trading session, the benchmark Sensex ended Monday with a gain of 136 points, or 0.34 per cent, after a sharp fall of 988 points on Saturday, as the Indian markets witnessed strong support from domestic institutional investors (DIIs) even as foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) continued to sell for the second consecutive day since Budget announcement on Saturday. The Sensex was volatile on Monday. While it hit an intra-day high of 40,014, it touched a day’s low of 39,563, before closing at 39,872. While FPIs sold equities worth a net of Rs 1,200 crore on Monday, DIIs made up for it with net investments of Rs 1,286 crore, as per provisional data provided by the stock exchanges. On Saturday, after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s Budget presentation for 2020-21, FPIs sold domestic equities worth a net of Rs 4,375 crore, resulting in a sharp decline of 2.4 per cent in the BSE Sensex and 2.5 per cent in Nifty at the National Stock Exchange. Even as markets fell sharply on Saturday, the FM had expressed confidence that the Budget will have a positive impact on stock market on Monday, when it is fully open. Her optimism found the markets endorsement on Monday. While the Sensex rose 0.34 per cent, mid and small cap indices were up 1.1 per cent and 0.1 per cent, respectively. While the total number of companies traded at BSE stood at 2,645, the advance to decline ration stood at 945 to 1,522. Meanwhile, at a FICCI conference on Monday, to a query on why Sensex was not happy on Budget day, Sitharaman said, “But I see them being happy today … Monday’s is the true working mood and today’s mood is that they are happy. Aren’t they, today they are happy, not exuberant, but happy somewhat.” The Indian markets rose on Monday even as major Asian indices traded under pressure, amidst growing concerns over coronavirus and its impact on the economy. While the Shanghai Composite in China fell 7.7 per cent, Nikkei 225 in Japan fell 1 per cent. Even the SET Composite in Thailand and Straits Composite in Singapore fell 1.2 per cent. Despite rising on Monday, experts say that the Indian markets may remain under pressure. “We believe absence of any major announcements in the Budget may weigh on the investor sentiments in the short-term and we may continue to witness volatility . Rising concerns regarding coronavirus may continue to cause uncertainty in the markets,” said Ajit Mishra, VP—research, Religare Broking. 📢 The Indian Express is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@indianexpress) and stay updated with the latest headlines
