Indian equity benchmark indices rose for a second day on May 18, tracking most Asian peers and closed at a two month high. Nifty opened with an upgap and made a 94 point high-low range for the day. At close, Nifty 50 Index added 1.24% or 185 points to close at 15108.
Volumes on the NSE were above recent average. Among sectors, Capital Goods, Consumer Durables, Power and Auto rose the most while Telecom and FMCG fell. Midcap index outperformed the Nifty.
Asian stock markets were mostly sharply higher on Tuesday, on bargain-hunting from the recent global market falls amid continuing pessimism about the conronavirus pandemic, on surging commodities prices and the easing U.S. dollar (near 3 month low). European stock markets were higher Tuesday, helped by promises of continued US Fed largesse along with better than expected U.K. employment data (fell to 4.8% between January and March, a period which the country spent under a tight Covid lockdown). Euro zone gross domestic product (GDP) declined by 0.6% in the first quarter, in line with initial estimates and confirming that the 19-member bloc entered a technical recession to start the year.
Nifty breached the earlier resistance of 15044 with an upgap and closed with sharp gains. Advance decline ratio was also positive. The next resistance for the Nifty is at 15186-15240 while the support for the near term could come in at 14938-14988. Falling new cases of Covid-19 and faster recoveries has raised hopes that the second wave is now on a decline mode and India shall soon be back on the normal growth path.