At new highs, the domestic stock markets have opened up, continuing with the positive momentum seen in the previous session, optimism about the roll-out of Covid-19 vaccines and hopes of a rapid economic recovery. The BSE Sensex was at 52,421.55 at 9:18 am, higher by 282.50 points or 0.56 per cent, and the NSE Nifty was up 85 points or 0.55 per cent at 15,403.70. All the sectoral Nifty indexes, with the exception of the pharmaceutical index, are traded in green. In order to hit new life-time highs, the Nifty PSU Bank index has pushed higher by almost 1%, building on the 3+ percent gains seen on Monday. Global shares kept firm on Tuesday, with a good base in place to extend their bull run to a 12th consecutive session as global economic growth optimism and low interest rate expectations push investment into riskier assets.
Outside Japan, MSCI's broadest Asia-Pacific share index ticked up 0.1%, while Japan's Nikkei gained 0.4% to a 30-year peak. Wall Street was closed on Monday for the President's Day holiday, while the Chinese mainland markets will remain closed until Wednesday for the Lunar New Year. S&P500 futures traded 0.5 percent higher to a record level and the All Country World Index (ACWI) of MSCI, which so far this month has risen every single day, ticked up marginally. In the meantime, oil prices soared to their highest on Monday in about 13 months as vaccine roll-outs vowed to revive demand and supply remained reined in by producers. After reaching a session peak of $63.76, its highest since Jan. 22 last year, Brent crude was up 93 cents, or 1.5 per cent, at $63.36 a barrel by 1523 GMT.
For the second consecutive day, financial stocks have extended their rally. M&M, Sun Pharma, Infosys and TCS, on the other hand, have bucked the strong trend to report losses of about half a percent each.
The breadth of the BSE market was positive; approximately 991 shares advanced and 353 shares dropped.