Equities settle high as Eco Survey shows several positive growth indicators

New Delhi: The Indian equities have settled sharply higher on Monday as the Economic Survey for FY22, which was tabled in Parliament, mentioned several positive indicators for the macro economy.

Sensex settled at 58,014 points, up 1.4 per cent or 813 points, whereas Nifty at 17,339 points, up 1.4 per cent or 237 points.

In the mid-market session, the Sensex was trading a little over 1,000 points to pare some gains just before the session’s close.

“Indian markets tried to bounce back on Friday, but due to weak global cues it couldn’t sustain and lost momentum in the last hour of trade. As the market has seen some correction from the top and also, we have a budget lined up this week, there could be a bounce back in the indices,” said Rajesh Bhatia — MD and CIO — ITI Long Short Equity Fund.

The Budget is seen as more optimistic, considering the better tax collections and improved current account, due to higher forex reserves resulting from increased IT exports, Bhatia said.

“Thus, the income is expected to be better than before. Also, the inflow is expected due to disinvestment of private sector units, like BPCL etc, as the disinvestment couldn’t happen during the current financial year.”

The government in this Budget is expected to improve consumption and focus on reviving growth in the economy, especially in the rural segment, Bhatia further said.

Among sectoral indices, though all were in the green but Nifty PSU bank, IT and realty were the top movers.

Among stocks, Tech Mahindra, Tata Motors, Wipro, BPCL and Bajaj Finserv were the top five gainers, while Indusind Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Coal India, UPL and Hindustan Unilever were the top losers, NSE data showed.

“Taking positive cues from global markets and favourable takeaways from the Economic Survey report, the market rallied ahead of the Budget day with all major sectors in the green,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

“The major macro indicators of the survey gave confidence that the country is well placed to face future challenges with GDP growth for FY23 projected at 8-8.5 per cent.

On Monday, global markets turned positive backed by gains in the US market as investors ignored geopolitical disturbances and turned their eye towards strong earnings numbers from tech firms, Nair added.

–IANS