Sensex Rises Nearly 100 Points, Steel Stocks Shine

The Sensex edged higher in late afternoon trade on Monday on gains in IT, healthcare and metal stocks. However, a slump in the rupee and selling pressure in oil & gas and capital goods stocks capped the gains. The Sensex was up nearly 100 points while Nifty was near 7,650.

Here is a 10-point cheat-sheet:

1) Steel stocks were in the limelight after the government imposed import duties for five years on some stainless steel imports from China, the European Union and the United States on Friday.

2) Jindal Stainless surged 12 per cent, Maharashtra Seamless rose 2 per cent while ISMT rose 1.5 per cent. JSW Steel, and Tata Steel gained 3-4 per cent on hopes that the import duty could be imposed on other categories of steel as well.

3) Banking stocks struggled amid concerns that the Reserve Bank of India could tighten provisioning norms for restructured assets had weighed on banking stocks. 

4) Market analysts say that Indian markets were in an oversold territory after the steep fall this month. Nifty could find support at 7,500 levels, they add.

5) A plunge in the rupee - which fell to over 2-year low of 67.09/dollar today - and global selloff in equity markets in anticipation of Fed rate hike later this week have weighed on Indian stock markets.

6) The political deadlock over the GST bill has also weighed on the sentiment. However, TS Harihar of HRBV Client Solutions Private said most of the negative news seems to be factored in at current levels but investors should not be in a hurry to buy stocks.

7) TCS shares fell nearly 1 per cent after the IT major on Friday said that floods in Chennai are expected to have a "material impact" on TCS' current quarter revenues. October-December quarter is usually a weak quarter for the Indian IT players.

8) Select auto stocks were also weak following the National Green Tribunal's order against registration of new diesel vehicles in Delhi. Tata Motors fell 2 per cent.

9) Oil & gas stocks ONGC and Cairn India fell 1-2 per cent following a slump in global oil prices.

10) Most Asian markets ended weak today but Europeans markets were higher in early trade.