Benchmark indices further pared gains in afternoon trade. The Nifty slipped below the crucial 15,000 level. Gains were capped as the Brent crude futures surged above $70 a barrel on Monday, following reports of attacks on Saudi Arabian facilities. Higher crude oil prices could increase fiscal deficit, current account deficit and stoke fuel price inflation.

At 13:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 134.27 points or 0.27% at 50,539.59. The Nifty 50 index rose 47.45 points or 0.32% at 14,985.55.

Infosys (up 1.48%), Reliance Industries (up 0.89%) and Larsen & Toubro (up 3.55%) supported the indices. HDFC (down 1.09%), ICICI Bank (down 1.09%) and HDFC Bank (down 0.63%) were major drags.

The broader market was trading firm. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.43%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.90%.

Buyers outnumbered sellers. On the BSE, 1,795 shares rose and 1,178 shares fell. A total of 224 shares were unchanged.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 2,014.16 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net sellers to the tune of Rs 1,191.19 crore in the Indian equity market on 5 March 2021, provisional data showed.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 11,68,49,611 with 25,93,230 deaths. India reported 1,88,747 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 1,57,853 deaths while 1,08,82,798 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

Gainers & Losers:

UPL (up 5.54%), GAIL (India) (up 5.50%), Larsen & Toubro (up 3.55%), ONGC (up 3.48%) and NTPC (up 3.27%) were major gainers in Nifty 50 index.

Ultratech Cement (down 2.06%), Bajaj Finance (down 1.95%), Shree Cement (down 1.48%), IndusInd Bank (down 1.29%) and Wipro (down 1.08%) were major losers in Nifty 50 index.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Force Motors rose 0.27%. The company's production slipped 1.87% to 1,829 units in February 2021 as against 1,864 units in February 2020. Domestic sales tanked 40.9% to 1,182 units in February 2021 as against 2,000 units in February 2020. Exports soared 286.32% to 452 units in February 2021 compared with 117 units in February 2020.

Muthoot Finance declined 2.56% after the company's chairman and whole-time director, M G George Muthoot, passed away on Friday, 5 March 2021.

Just Dial spurted 7.75% after the local search engine said it has inked a pact with broadcaster Star India for advertising as co-presenting sponsor during Indian Premier League (IPL) 14. The T20 IPL tournament will be held in April-May 2021.

Global Markets:

European shares opened higher while Asian shares declined on Monday. The US Senate passed a $1.9 trillion economic relief and stimulus bill on Saturday, paving the way for extensions to unemployment benefits, another round of stimulus checks and aid to state and local governments. However, rising bond yields continued to spark fears that central banks will look to tighten policy sooner than expected.

Meanwhile, China's February exports grew at a record pace from a year earlier when COVID-19 battered the world's second-biggest economy, customs data showed on Sunday, while imports rose less sharply. Exports in dollar terms skyrocketed 154.9% in February compared with a year earlier, while imports gained 17.3%, the most since October 2018.

Today's session in Asia follows the wild day in US stock market Friday, where stocks roared back from a sharp sell-off as a stronger-than-expected nonfarm payrolls report improved optimism for a quicker economic recovery.

Hiring surged in February as U.S. economic activity picked up with COVID-19 cases steadily dropping and vaccine rollouts providing hope for more growth.

The Labor Department reported Friday that nonfarm payrolls jumped by 379,000 for the month and the unemployment rate fell to 6.2%. That compared with the unemployment rate holding steady from the 6.3% rate in January. The report further showed that hiring also was stronger in January than initially indicated, with that month's tally revised to 166,000 from 49,000. However, December's count was revised lower from a loss of 227,000 to a drop of 306,000.