Bulls were back at Dalal Street on Tuesday after a day’s hiatus as benchmark equity indices settled higher amid the positive global cues. Optimism for a less aggressive US Federal Reserve pushed the markets higher, while buying in the index heavyweights supported market sentiments.
The US central banker’s two-day FOMC meet kicks off today and it will announce its results on Wednesday, which will be keenly tracked by the traders. Also, the easing of banking system concerns lifted the sentiments for the equity markets.
For the day, the 30-share pack BSE Sensex jumped 445.73 points, or 0.77 per cent, to 58,074.68, whereas NSE’s Nifty50 rose 119.10 points, or 0.70 per cent, to 17,107.50. Broader markets underperformed the headline peers BSE midcap and smallcap indices ended half a per cent down, each. Fear gauge India VIX plunged about 5 per cent to 15.08-level.
The Indian stock market got off to a good start today, with the Nifty opening at 17,060 and rising steadily throughout the day to close above 17,100. This upward trend was largely driven by the banking sector, which emerged as the Nifty’s best-performing sector, said Ameya Ranadive, CMT, Equity Research Analyst at Choice Broking.
“The Nifty support is set at 16,850, indicating that the market has a solid foundation to withstand any potential downside risk. The Nifty, on the other hand, has a resistance level of 17,250, indicating that the market may encounter some resistance to further upward movement at this level,” he said.
Among the sectors, the Nifty IT index dropped a per cent, followed by the Nifty FMCG index. Nifty Pharma and Realty indices also settled in the red. On the contrary, Nifty Bank and Financial Services Index led the rally, whereas Nifty Media index was also up by a per cent.
In the Nifty50 pack, HDFC Life Insurance surged 4 per cent, followed by Reliance Industries which gained over 3 per cent. Bajaj Finance and Bajaj Auto also advanced 3 per cent, each, whereas SBI Life Insurance, Axis Bank and Titan Company rose 2 per cent, each.
On the other hand, Power Grid, Hindustan Unilever and Britannia Industries dropped 2 per cent. Tech Mahindra, Divis Laboratories, Tata Consultancy Services, Apollo Hospital Enterprises and Infosys shed a per cent, each.
The markets will closely follow global cues and the developments in the US and European banking system. All eyes will be on the US Fed monetary policy meeting and its interest rate decision due tomorrow, said Mitul Shah, Head of Research at Reliance Securities.
“Domestically, CPI and WPI have cooled and the trade deficit has narrowed. Brent crude prices have corrected 10 per cent since the start of the US banking crisis which coupled with the cheaper crude from Russia and the fall in natural gas and coal prices is a huge tailwind for the Indian economy,” he said.
A total of 3,648 shares were traded on BSE on Tuesday, of which 1,999 settled higher. 1,515 stocks ended the session with gains, while 134 shares remained unchanged. A total of 191 shares hit their upper circuit, whereas 166 tested the lower circuit levels for the day.
In the broader markets, Khadim India rose about 13 per cent, whereas Stove Kraft and Valiant Organics gained 11 per cent, each. CSB Bank was up 9 per cent for the day, whereas Anupam Rasayan India rose about 8 per cent. BASF India added more than 6 per cent.
On the contrary, Capri Global Capital declined 7 per cent, followed by a 5 per cent fall in TeamLease Services. 360One Wam was down 4 per cent, whereas Narayana Hrudayalaya retreated 3 per cent for the session.
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