Stock market today: Sensex gains over 180 points, Nifty 50 closes near record high; mid- and small-caps outperform
- Stock market today: Sensex and Nifty 50 close higher, driven by auto and consumer durable sectors; IT stocks lag due to profit booking.
Stock market today: Domestic benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty 50 ended Friday's session in green despite a flat and sluggish opening. The major indices were driven by auto and consumer durable sectors, while information technology (IT) firms were the biggest drags in the day chiefly due to profit booking. Due to revived anticipation that US interest rates will be slashed soon, the IT stocks on Thursday rose over 1%. In the last 30 minutes, Nifty 50 touched a record high of 23,481 level.
The 30-share BSE Sensex ended higher by 181.87 points or 0.24% at 76,992.77 level while the Nifty 50 closed at 23,465.60 level, up 66.70 points or 0.29%.
On the broader market front, the Nifty Midcap 100 closed 1.05% higher, while the Nifty SmallCap 100 ended up 0.8%, both outperforming the benchmark indices. The fear gauge index, the India VIX closed 4.93% lower on Friday.
Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, indicated that there is a transitory dip in market momentum due to a lack of new triggers following the US Fed's hawkish remark, lessening the likelihood of a rate cut in the immediate term. Domestic investors are waiting for indications from the impending union budget, which appears to indicate a near-term consolidation. There is a rising belief that the government should prioritise welfare, hence boosting consumption-driven stocks.
According to PTI news, Asian shares were mixed in quiet trade Friday as Wall Street's ongoing craze about artificial-intelligence technology pushed indexes to fresh highs.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 0.7% to 38,998.04 as the Bank of Japan maintained its monetary policy, but it did suggest it wants to start lowering its government bond purchases as it eases out of its ultra-lax stance, as per PTI report.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index declined 0.3% to 7,723.30. South Korea's Kospi advanced 0.1% to 2,758.21. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index sank 0.7% to 17,988.24, whereas the Shanghai Composite slid 0.2% to 3,021.88.
Top Nifty 50 Gainers and Losers
As many as 28 stocks settled in the green in the Nifty 50 index while the rest 22 ended in red.
Shares of Eicher Motors Ltd (up 2.66%), Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (up 2.23%), Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd (up 2.18%), Shriram Finance Ltd (up 1.75%) and Titan Company Ltd (up 1.69%) ended as top gainers. On the other side, Tech Mahindra Ltd (down 1.22%), Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (down 1.16%), Wipro Ltd (down 1.13%), HCL Technologies Ltd (down 0.90%), and Larsen & Toubro Ltd (down 0.61%) were among the laggards.
Sectoral indices today
On the sectoral front, Nifty Auto, Consumer Durables, Realty, Metal, Oil & Gas, Financial services, FMCG ended in green with gains in the range of 0.4% to 1.30%, while IT ended in red, and Media closed flat.
Experts Views on Markets
"The Nifty 50 remained within the defined range of 23,300-23,500. The short-term sentiment is likely to remain more or less positive. Support levels are seen at 23,400/23,300, where put writers have built significant positions. A decisive fall below these levels might shift the market balance in favour of the bears. Until then, it’s a buy-on-dips market. On the higher end, a decisive move above 23,500 might lead to a sharp upside in the near term," said Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst, LKP Securities.
Disclaimer: The views and recommendations above are those of individual analysts, experts and broking companies, not of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decisions.
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