Markets extend morning gains; Financial Services lead while oil retailers lag 

Equity markets maintained their positive momentum Monday afternoon, extending gains from the morning session as financial services stocks continued to outperform. The benchmark Sensex traded at 74,078.46 at 12.30 PM, up 249.55 points or 0.34 per cent from its previous close. Similarly, the broader Nifty50 index climbed 77.50 points or 0.35 per cent to 22,474.70.

The rally follows last week’s positive inflation data, with February’s reading of 3.61 per cent raising prospects of monetary easing by the Reserve Bank of India. Financial services stocks led sectoral gains with the Nifty Financial Services index rising 1.08 per cent, while the banking index added 0.71 per cent.

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Among individual stocks, Bajaj Finserv emerged as the top gainer on the NSE, surging 3.71 per cent with substantial trading volume of over 57 lakh shares. Other significant gainers included SBI Life, up 3.64 per cent, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories gaining 3.04 per cent, Trent adding 2.47 per cent, and Axis Bank climbing 2.23 per cent.

On the flip side, state-owned oil retailer BPCL led the losers, falling 2.14 per cent amid volatile crude oil prices. FMCG major Britannia Industries declined 1.74 per cent, while IT services provider Wipro dropped 1.55 per cent. Two-wheeler manufacturer Hero MotoCorp and paint maker Asian Paints were also among top losers, shedding 1.44 per cent and 1.14 per cent respectively.

Market breadth remained negative with 2,169 stocks declining compared to 1,764 advances on the BSE. The midcap segment showed resilience with the Nifty Midcap Select index gaining 0.38 per cent.

Technical indicators showed market caution with 335 stocks hitting 52-week lows compared to just 79 reaching 52-week highs. Additionally, 310 stocks hit their lower circuit limits while 194 touched upper circuit levels.

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The ongoing market performance comes amid a backdrop of global trade tensions and record gold prices, which recently touched $3,000 per ounce. Analysts remain vigilant about potential headwinds despite the domestic indices holding onto gains from their morning rally.

Trading volumes remained moderate across key counters as investors likely await further cues from global markets and domestic economic indicators ahead of the market close