The Nifty 50 was up 0.08% to 17,758.25, as of 10:23
a.m. IST, while the S&P BSE Sensex gained 0.05%.
Six of the 13 major sectoral indexes declined with
information technology (IT) and pharma falling 0.5% each.
IT stocks led the slide in markets last week on weak
earnings and outlook from major companies including Tata
Consultancy Services Ltd and Infosys Ltd .
However, strong fourth-quarter results from Reliance
Industries Ltd and ICICI Bank Ltd resulted
in an improvement in sentiment and gains in markets on Monday.
"Nifty is showing signs of an upside breakout of the small narrow range," said Nagaraj Shetti, technical research analyst at HDFC Securities. "But a decisive upside breakout could only occur if Nifty surpasses the crucial 17,865 level." Analysts expect markets to remain range-bound for the next few sessions, with a positive bias as earnings trickle in. Private lender IndusInd Bank Ltd rose over 2% on reporting a better-than-expected profit for the March quarter. The stock is the top gainer in the Nifty 50.
Securities systems firm Nelco Ltd jumped 10% after its net profit nearly doubled in the March quarter.
Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals Ltd tumbled over 14% after the company appointed Promeet Glosh as the new managing director and CEO as part of leadership realignment. Shares of IPCA Laboratories Ltd fell over 9% after the company agreed to buy a 33.38% stake in Unichem Laboratories Ltd for up to 10.34 billion rupees ($126.3 million). IPCA was the top loser in the pharma index. Bajaj Auto , Nestle India , HDFC Asset Management Company Ltd , Tata Consumer Products Ltd , and Mahindra Lifespace Developers Ltd are among the companies due to report their earnings later in the day.
($1 = 81.8675 Indian rupees) (Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Dhanya Ann Thoppil, Sonia Cheema, and Janane Venkatraman)
