Benchmark indices managed to close higher after a highly volatile session on Thursday, led by gains in banking and metal stocks. After moving 877 points during the session, Sensex ended 259 points higher at 48,803 and Nifty rose 76.65 points to 14,581.45.
BSE bankex ended 384 points higher and BSE metal index rose 234 points to 16,013. Auto stocks dragged the market lower with the BSE auto index falling 266 points to 21,870. TCS was the top Sensex gainer, rising around 4 per cent, followed by ONGC, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Dr Reddy’s, HDFC and HCL Tech.
On the other hand, Infosys, Maruti, IndusInd Bank, Nestle India and Bajaj Finance were among the top losers┬а plunging up to 2.65%.
Analysts said Infosys witnessed profit booking after missing the street’s estimates in 4QFY21 earnings.
Of 30 Sensex stocks, 17 ended in the green. Market cap of BSE-listed firms swelled by Rs 0.15 lakh crore to Rs 203.95 lakh crore in today’s session against Rs 203.80 lakh crore on April 13.
On Tuesday, Sensex closed 660 points higher at 48,544 and Nifty rose 194 points to 14,504. Top Sensex gainers were M&M, Bajaj twins, Maruti Suzuki and IndusInd Bank rising up to 8.02%.
India VIX , the market’s┬а volatility gauge, rose 2.10% to 20.89 on Thursday, signaling rising volatiliy in Indian equity market.
Market breadth was negative with 1,247 stocks ending higher against 1,649 falling on BSE. 161 stocks were unchanged in trade today.
Here’s a look at what analysts said about the directtion of market going ahead.
Shrikant Chouhan, Executive Vice President (Equity Technical Research) at Kotak Securities said, “For the second time, Nifty and Sensex managed to close above the levels of 14,450 and 48550, respectively. By forming the bullish continuation on a daily basis, the market has opened the possibilities of hitting 14850/50100, where it has resistance of upward barrier of the rectangle consolidation.┬а The lower boundary of the trading range is at 14250/47690 levels. Bank nifty also closed at the highest point of the day due to unusual strength in private banks. Value buying emerged in technology companies and select stocks closed at the highest point of the day. On Friday, the strategy should be to buy on dips.┬а The buying range should be 14,530 to 14,480. Keep a final stop loss at 14350 for the same.”
Ruchit Jain, Senior Analyst – Technical and Derivatives, Angel Broking said,”This pullback in Nifty has relieved the oversold momentum set ups on lower time frame charts and thus, the gap area and the ’20 DEMA’ at 14650-14700 will be seen as immediate resistances. It would be prudent to see whether the index surpasses that resistance at the weekly closing or it reverses again from that hurdle. Traders are advised to focus on stock specific action and avoid aggressive bets in this pullback. On the flipside, 14460 followed by 14350 would be seen as intraday supports.”
Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services said, “Market is becoming more cautious as states are increasing restrictions due to the havoc created by the virus. Growth-oriented sectors and stocks are losing momentum while defensives like Pharma, FMCG & IT are gaining. However, states will not opt for a complete lockdown like last year, but high valuation will lead to a phase of short-term consolidation.”
