Stock market today: Sensex, Nifty 50 settle higher for 4th straight session; broader indices outperform

Stock market today: Indian stock market benchmarks the Sensex and the Nifty 50 ended in the green for the fourth consecutive session on Wednesday, April 24, driven by gains in select heavyweights including Hindalco, Cipla, JSW Steel, Tata Steel, amid broadly positive global cues. 

The indices witnessed some selling pressure towards the fag-end of the session that erased some initial gains. With no major escalation in the Middle East, the market's focus has shifted to corporate earnings which has been mixed so far. 

Follow Stock Market Live Updates: Sensex closes up 110pts, Nifty at 22,400; IT, Auto, PSU Bank down, Metal, Health, Realty gain

The 30-share Sensex climbed 114.49 points to settle at 73,852.94, while the Nifty 50 rose 34.40 points to close at 22,402.40. In the last four days, the BSE benchmark climbed 1,363.95 points or 1.88 per cent. The broader market outperformed the benchmark indices, with the BSE Smallcap gaining 0.79 per cent, while the BSE Midcap closed higher at 0.92 per cent.

Among the widely-tracked Nifty 50 stocks, 30 advanced and the rest 20 declined. The market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies jumped by ₹8,48,328.9 crore to ₹4,01,37,377.21 crore ($4.84 trillion) in four days and investors' wealth surged ₹8.48 lakh crore during the period of market rally.

The rupee consolidated in a narrow range and settled two paise lower at 83.33 against the US dollar on Wednesday, as the support from positive domestic equities was negated by rising American currency. Forex traders said elevated crude oil prices and significant foreign fund outflows dented sentiments.

European stocks struggled to make headway on Wednesday, with a rally in technology stocks barely keeping the benchmark afloat amid disappointing earnings in the banking and luxury sectors. US equity futures advanced, with contracts on the Nasdaq 100 outperforming. Tesla's gains alone represented about a third of the rally in Nasdaq futures, according to Bloomberg.

Top Nifty 50 gainers today

Nifty 50 constituents Hindalco , JSW Steel and Tata Steel rose between 2.9 per cent and four per cent and were the top percentage gainers. From the Sensex basket, JSW Steel, Tata Steel, Power Grid, Kotak Mahindra Bank, UltraTech Cement, NTPC, Bajaj Finance and Axis Bank were the major gainers. 
 

Sectoral indices today

Among the indices, metal climbed 2.83 per cent, commodities (1.62 per cent), industrials (1.13 per cent) and oil & gas (0.96 per cent) were the major gainers. IT, telecommunication and tech were the laggards. Ten out of the 13 major sectoral indexes ended higher on the day. Metals led sectoral gains, rising 2.7 per cent to a record high, tracking an upswing in global demand.

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Expert views on markets

"Indian markets lagged the Asian peers as Q4 earnings remained largely subdued with weak results from IT and a few index heavyweights results also disappointed,'' said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.

‘’However, buoyed by strong manufacturing and service sectors, the Indian composite PMI hit a multi-year high, reflecting domestic resilience bringing some buoyancy in the broad market. Globally, investor sentiment improved with easing tensions in the Middle East and declining oil prices,'' added Nair.
 

Technical view on Nifty 50

"The Nifty remained sideways throughout the session before closing with a slight gain. Sentiment for the short term continues to remain positive as the index closed above the critical moving average,'' said Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst, LKP Securities.

‘’The positive crossover in the RSI also supports the positive momentum. On the higher end, immediate resistance is placed at 22,500. A decisive move above 22,500 might take the index towards 22,750-22,800 over the short term. Support is placed at 22,350-22,400,'' added De.
 

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