Domestic benchmark indices erased most of their early gains as the headline peers settled flat on Thursday. However, they managed to settle with gains for the straight third session. Buoyancy was seen in the broader markets for the session.
Positive global cues pushed the indices higher during the early trade, but the weekly derivative series expiry increased the volatility at Dalal Street. Analysts expect the street to remain range-bound in the near future.
For the day, BSE Sensex added 44.42 points, or only 0.07 per cent, to 61,319.51. The Nifty50 gained 20 points, or 0.11 per cent, to 18,035.85. Broader markets outperformed the headline peers as BSE midcap and smallcap jumped almost a per cent, each. India VIX eased slightly to the 12.89-level.
Nifty rose for the third consecutive session but volumes on the NSE continued to be on the lower side. Global stocks mostly rose today, with investors cheering strong US retail sales data, said Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities.
“Nifty50 rose as expected, but could not hold on to gains. In case we see a lower high and lower close, then the present up move could be termed as over. 18,135-17,954 could be the new trading band for the Nifty in the near term, he said.
On a sectoral front, the Nifty IT index rose over 2 per cent, followed by a jump of one per cent, each, in metal and realty indices. The pharma index also posted decent gains. On the contrary, autos, financial services and banking stocks were the top laggards.
Among the Adani Group stocks, Adani Wilmar, NDTV and Adani Power hit an upper circuit of 5 per cent each, whereas Adani Total Gas and Adani Transmission were down 5 per cent each, locked in the seller’s circuit. Adani Ports gained over 2 per cent, whereas Adani Enterprises and Ambuja Cements added over a per cent, each. Adani Green and ACC settled in the red.
ONGC topped the gainers in the Nifty50 pack with a 6 per cent rally, followed by Tech Mahindra which rose over 5 per cent. Apollo Hospitals surged 3 per cent, whereas Divis Labs, Nestle India and Tata Steel were up 2 per cent, each. Among the losers, Bharat Petroleum shed 2 per cent, whereas Bajaj Finance, M&M, Eicher Motors, HDFC Life and HUL were other top laggards.
The domestic market absorbed the buoyancy in the global market, led by IT stocks, while upstream oil companies gained as a result of the slash in windfall tax, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.
“After robust jobs data, strong retail sales numbers in the US showed proof of resilience in the US economy amidst concerns over elevated inflation numbers. However, the gains were capped by worries that a stronger economy would attract a tighter monetary policy,” he said.
A total of 3,625 stocks traded for the day on BSE, of which 1,872 settled higher, while 1,586 settled lower. The remaining 167 stocks ended unchanged. A total of 161 stocks hit an upper circuit on BSE, whereas 252 stocks hit the lower circuit during the trading session.
In the broader markets, Orient Hotels surged over 14 per cent for the day, whereas Nucleus Software Exports rose 14 per cent after a strong quarterly performance. State-run Bharat Dynamic rallied 13 per cent after signing MoU at Aero India 2023 several Indian and overseas companies. SpiceJet was up 12 per cent for the day.
On the contrary, EKI Energy Services continued to hit a lower circuit of another 10 per cent. VLS Finance dropped about 8 per cent. Campus Activewear and Sintex Plastic plunged up to 5 per cent, each. Interglobe Aviation dropped over 4 per cent after the reported stake sale by Gangwar family.
Prevest DenPro has reported a net profit of Rs 3.59 crore in the third quarter of FY23, an increase of 8 per cent on a sequential basis. The Jammu-based dental products manufacturer’s net sales increased to Rs 12.26 crore during the December quarter.
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