Stock markets climb for 2nd day on continuous foreign fund inflows

Mumbai, May 15 (PTI) Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty gained around half a per cent to close at nearly five-month high levels on Monday following continuous foreign fund inflows and firm trends in Asian and European markets.

Rising for a second straight day, the 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 317.81 points or 0.51 per cent to settle at 62,345.71, the highest closing level since December 14. During the day, it rallied 534.77 points or 0.86 per cent to 62,562.67.

The broader NSE Nifty gained 84.05 points or 0.46 per cent to end at 18,398.85 points, a level not seen since December 20, 2022.

Among the Sensex firms, Tata Motors jumped nearly 3 per cent after announcing its quarterly earnings. ITC, Tech Mahindra, Hindustan Unilever, Larsen & Toubro, Infosys, Tata Steel and Mahindra & Mahindra were the other biggest gainers.

Fuelled by rising domestic demand, pricing actions and easing supply chain issues, Tata Motors reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 5,408 crore for the March quarter and aims to improve the profit margins this fiscal despite headwinds.

Maruti, Tata Consultancy Services, Bajaj Finance, Asian Paints, Bajaj Finserv and Nestle were the laggards.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were buyers on Friday as they bought equities worth Rs 1,014.06 crore, according to exchange data.

Foreign investors have shown strong buying interest in Indian equities in May and invested more than Rs 23,152 crore in the first fortnight.

In Asia, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong markets ended trading in the green. European markets were trading mostly with gains. The US market ended marginally lower on Friday.

Wholesale prices in India fell for the first time in almost three years in April, as softening global commodity prices brought down food, fuel, and other input costs for producers.

WPI inflation has been on a declining trend for the last 11 months and came in at (-) 0.92 per cent in April.

The BSE benchmark had gained 123.38 points or 0.20 per cent to settle at 62,027.90 on Friday, the highest closing level since December 12, 2022. The Nifty edged up 17.80 points or 0.1 per cent to 18,314.80.

Meanwhile, global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.24 per cent to USD 74.34 per barrel.