Despite weak global cues, Indian equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, ended higher for the fourth straight session on Monday as heavy buying in banking, financials and IT counters kept sentiments high amid mounting coronavirus cases. Starting the session on a positive note, the BSE Sensex marked the day's high at 37,478.87, before closing at 37,418.99, up 398.85 points or 1.08 per cent. Likewise, the broader NSE Nifty climbed 120.50 points or 1.11 per cent to end at 11,022.20.
"Markets are largely focusing on the earnings and the recent announcements from the index majors have positively surprised the market, which in turn fueling the recovery. Besides, the global markets are also not showing any signs of slowing down, helping the index to maintain the prevailing momentum. However, the rising COVID-19 cases and talks of community transmission could dent the pace ahead. We suggest focusing more on risk management and preferring quality counters for trading and investment," said Ajit Mishra, VP - Research, Religare Broking.
Here are 5 things to know before Tuesday's opening bell
AGR case update
Telecom stocks are expected to see movement in Tuesday's trade after the Supreme Court reserved its order on the staggered payment of AGR dues by the telcos including Bharti Airtel and Vodafone.
Weak global cues
European equities were on the back foot in opening trade amid negotiations between EU leaders for a recovery fund to spur growth amid the coronavirus crisis. The number of cases around the world linked to COVID-19 has crossed 1.45 crore and the death toll has topped 6.06 lakh. In India, the death toll due to the disease rose to 27,497 and the number of infections crossed the 11-lakh mark on Monday, according to the health ministry.
Earnings
So far, the companies, especially the IT firms have posted better than expected results. The investors would be keenly awaiting earnings releases from firms such as Axis Bank, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, HDFC Life Insurance, ICICI Prudential SBI Life, among others.
Rising rupee
Rising rupee had a rub-off effect on investor sentiment, analysts said. The rupee ended the first session of the week at 74.91 against the US dollar, up 0.14 per cent or 11 paise from its previous close. The domestic currency is at near the strongest level recorded during the session.
Technical insights
"We would continue witnessing stock specific action as the earnings season unfold. Though the near term momentum looks positive, we would advise traders to be cautious, given flaring US-China trade relations, persistent rise in virus cases and implementation of fresh lockdowns in parts of the country. On the other hand we would advise investors to continue with their defensive portfolio approach," said Siddhartha Khemka, Head - Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services.
"The short term trend of Nifty continues to be positive. One may ride the uptrend and continue long trading positions with the stop loss of 10900 levels. The next crucial resistance to be watched is around 11250 this week. Key support is placed around 10900-10850 levels," said Nagaraj Shetti, Technical Research Analyst, HDFC Securities.
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