Auto, IT Stocks Give Sensex a 272 Pts Lift

The share markets on Thursday, May 7 were trading mostly on the flatline throughout the day with some gains in Auto, IT, and Metal stocks which led the benchmark Sensex to close higher by 272.21 points at 48,949.76. The Nifty-50 added 106.95 points to close at 14724.80.

The 30-share pack BSE index marked gains in 20 scrips out of 30 with shares of Bajaj Auto (+2.53 per cent), HDFC (+2.34 per cent), and Infosys (+1.46 per cent) being the top index contributors.

Following the frontlines, broader markets also witnessed buying interest as the BSE Midcap and Smallcap gained nearly a per cent each in the day's trade. Shares of IDBI Bank and Motilal Oswal were among the top gainers in the Midcap space as they gained 6-7 per cent each, while Angel Broking and Igarashi Motors hit the 20 per cent upper circuit in the Smallcap index.

On the flipside, Powergrid Corp, UPL, and NTPC were the top index losers as they dipped over a per cent each in the day's trade on Thursday. Banks and Pharma were the top laggards among the sectors.

Will the markets move upward further?

Analysts feel that with the unclear direction of the markets amid positives and negatives from the domestic and global cues, the market sentiment will continue in a mixed trajectory further.

 "The domestic market is hesitant to move in a clear direction. There have been many positive and negative news developments recently, like mixed state election results, further lockdowns, and RBI and Fed measures. The core domestic issue is the continued increase in Covid cases. We are in a mixed trajectory that is expected to continue in the near term," said Vinod Nair of Geojit Financial Services.

However, the current earnings session has turned impressive so far. Experts fear that the current Covid situation will hurt the sentiment for the upcoming quarters, and with the rating agencies downgrading the growth projections, investors will become cautious ahead, said experts.

 "4QFY21 earning season is progressing well so far, but earnings downgrades are now rising, given the widespread restrictions in various states, which is hurting mobility and economic recovery. Thus the interplay of a resurgence in COVID-19 cases and the pace of vaccination would decide the trajectory of economic recovery going forward," said Siddhartha Khemka of Motilal Oswal Financial Services.