Sensex, Nifty end higher as gains in financials offset Moody’s rating cut

Indian shares ended higher on Tuesday for a fifth straight session as a rally in financial stocks and positive broader markets helped offset the impact of a ratings cut by Moody’s.

The NSE Nifty 50 index ended up 1.56{b1ee4ac4d8d7b8e1af61a560a11ca52574b8103b547ccac8037ce0cdf9e7ba58} at 9,979.10, while the S&P BSE Sensex rose 1.57{b1ee4ac4d8d7b8e1af61a560a11ca52574b8103b547ccac8037ce0cdf9e7ba58} to 33,825. The indexes had risen more than 2{b1ee4ac4d8d7b8e1af61a560a11ca52574b8103b547ccac8037ce0cdf9e7ba58} on Monday.

“Liquidity is driving the markets and we have seen institutional buying happening for the past few days. That has also caused some of the short positions to get covered, leading to a bounce,” said Neeraj Dewan, director at Quantum Securities in New Delhi.

“Things are opening up globally, which is also driving broader sentiment.”

World stocks climbed towards three-month highs on Tuesday.

Moody’s Investors Service downgraded India’s credit rating to a notch above junk, citing a prolonged period of slow growth, rising debt and persistent stress in parts of the financial system.

Investors, however, were focusing on the imminent reopening of the Indian economy after a months-long lockdown to curb coronavirus infections, with the near-term outlook mostly priced in, analysts said.

Shares of Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd ended 7.6{b1ee4ac4d8d7b8e1af61a560a11ca52574b8103b547ccac8037ce0cdf9e7ba58} higher after a report on Monday said that promoter Uday Kotak will launch a 60 billion rupees block deal to meet Reserve Bank Of India regulations.

Kotak was one of the top boosts in the Nifty 50 index and led the rally in Nifty banking index, which gained 2.9{b1ee4ac4d8d7b8e1af61a560a11ca52574b8103b547ccac8037ce0cdf9e7ba58}. Nifty finance index ended 3.2{b1ee4ac4d8d7b8e1af61a560a11ca52574b8103b547ccac8037ce0cdf9e7ba58} higher.

Bajaj Finserve Ltd was the top gainer in Nifty 50 index, rising 9.5{b1ee4ac4d8d7b8e1af61a560a11ca52574b8103b547ccac8037ce0cdf9e7ba58}.

Shares of Interglobe Aviation Ltd ended 0.84{b1ee4ac4d8d7b8e1af61a560a11ca52574b8103b547ccac8037ce0cdf9e7ba58} lower ahead of March quarter results. The company posted a loss of 8.73 billion rupees compared with a profit of 5.90 billion rupees a year earlier, after the markets closed.