On the back of firm global cues, benchmark equity indices were able to extend their gains for the second straight session on Wednesday amid a choppy trading session. However, the gains were capped ahead of the US FOMC policy outcome, which kept the traders on the tenterhooks.
All eyes will be set on the US Federal Reserve, which will announce its interest rate decision later in the day. The US central bank will be looking to taper down the stubborn inflation amid the turmoil in the global banking sector.
For the day, the BSE’s barometer Sensex added 139.91 points, or 0.24 per cent, to 58,214.59, whereas NSE’s Nifty50 gained 44.40 points, or 0.26 per cent, to 17,151.90. Broader markets performed mixed as the BSE smallcap index rose about half a per cent, whereas the BSE midcap index was slightly higher at the close. Fear gauge India VIX declined about 2 per cent to end the session at 14.80-level.
The Nifty witnessed a range bound day of trade today. It opened on a positive note and consolidated thereafter to close the day on a positive note up 44 points. On the daily charts we can observe that the Nifty is in a pullback mode after correcting around 1,000 points between March 9 to March 20, said Jatin Gedia, Technical Research Analyst, Sharekhan by BNP Paribas.
“We believe that the pullback is not yet complete and we expect it to continue over the next few trading sessions. On the upside we expect it to retrace till levels of 17,460-17,500 where resistance in the form of the 200-day moving average. On the downside the immediate support stands at the lower end of the downward sloping channel 16,800-16,830,” he said.
On a sectoral front, Nifty Media index emerged as the top laggard, whereas Nifty Metal and Realty indices were the other two losers. On the other hand, Nifty Pharma index rose over a per cent, followed by Nifty PSU Bank index. Auto, FMCG and Financial Services indices also ended significantly higher.
In the Nifty50 pack, HDFC Life Insurance jumped about 3 per cent, followed by a 2 per cent rise in Bajaj FInance and Bajaj Finserv, each. Sun Pharma, Tata Consumer Products, SBI Life Insurance, Dr Reddy’s Labs and UPL gained 1-2 per cent each for the day.
Among the losers, Bharat Petroleum and NTPC declined 2 per cent, each. Coal India, Adani Ports, Adani Enterprises, Britannia Industries and Axis Bank shed a per cent, each.
A total of 3,631 shares were traded on BSE on Wednesday, of which 2,040 settled higher 1,456 stocks ended the session with gains, while 135 shares remained unchanged. A total of 205 shares hit their upper circuit, whereas 147 tested the lower circuit levels for the day.
Staying afloat in a volatile trade, the domestic market managed to remain positive, with the optimism that the global banking system issue is behind us, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.
“Additionally, the volatility brought in from western markets ahead of the announcement of Fed policy and release of high UK inflation, tested market sentiments. The market has factored in a 25bps rate hike by the Fed, and an in-line and less hawkish policy stance will attract bulls,” he said.
In the broader markets, Wardwizard Innovations & Mobility and Krsnaa Diagnostics surged 10 per cent each, while Fine Organic Industries was up 9 per cent. One 97 Communications (Paytm) jumped 7 per cent, whereas 360 One Wam ended 6 per cent higher for the day.
On the other hand, Realty firm Sobha declined about 13 per cent as the company informed about a search carried out by the Income Tax department at its office and other premises. Mangalam Organics and Medplus Health Services ended 5 per cent down, each.
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