Market Wrap: Sensex, Nifty snap two-day losing run; investors get richer by over ₹3 lakh crore in a day
4 min read 21 Aug 2023, 03:31 PM ISTStock market today: Sensex ended the session with a gain of 267 points, or 0.41 per cent, at 65,216.09 while the Nifty50 rose 83 points, or 0.43 per cent, to settle at 19,393.60.
PremiumKey equity indices the Sensex and the Nifty50 closed with decent gains on Monday, snapping their two-day losing run, in light of positive global cues.
Major European markets, including the UK's FTSE, France's CAC and Germany's DAX, rose about a per cent each after last week's selloff.
"European stocks edged higher on Monday after a rout last week while government bond yields renewed their rise as oil prices firmed even as China delivered smaller rate cuts than investors expected," reported Reuters.
China's central bank lowered its one-year lending rate by 10 basis points. However, it surprised analysts by keeping the five-year rate unchanged. Analysts expected both rates to go down by 15 basis points as China, the world's second-largest economy, is facing problems like falling property prices, less spending, and decreasing credit growth.
Stock market today
Sensex opened 96 points lower at 64,852.70 against the previous close of 64,948.66. However, the index reversed the losses and rose about 387 points to hit the intraday high level of 65,335.82. Nifty50 hit the intraday high of 19,425.95 today.
Sensex ended the session with a gain of 267 points, or 0.41 per cent, at 65,216.09 while the Nifty50 rose 83 points, or 0.43 per cent, to settle at 19,393.60.
Shares of Infosys, ITC, Bajaj Finance, Bharti Airtel, TCS and Larsen & Toubro were the top contributors to the gains in the Sensex index.
Mid and smallcaps outperformed the benchmark. The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices ended 0.87 per cent and 0.71 per cent higher, respectively.
The overall market capitalisation of the firms listed on BSE rose to nearly ₹306.9 lakh crore from ₹303.4 lakh crore in the previous session, making investors richer by ₹3.5 lakh crore in a day.
Over 200 stocks, including Bharat Forge, CG Power and Industrial Solutions, L&T Technology Services, Oil India and REC, hit their fresh 52-week highs in intraday trade on BSE.
Top Nifty gainers and losers today
In the Nifty50 index, 38 stocks clocked gains while 13 stocks suffered losses today.
Shares of Bajaj Finance (up 2.75 per cent), Power Grid (up 2.66 per cent) and Adani Ports (up 2.59 per cent) ended as the top gainers.
On the flip side, shares of Reliance Industries (down 1.11 per cent), Mahindra and Mahindra (down 0.91 per cent) and Britannia Industries (down 0.75 per cent) ended as the top losers in the index.
Sectoral indices today
Most sectoral indices ended with gains today. The Nifty Metal index rose 1.30 per cent while the IT index rose 1.09 per cent.
Nifty Realty, Healthcare and Consumer Durables indices rose up to a per cent.
On the other hand, Nifty PSU Bank (down 0.64 per cent), Media (down 0.29 per cent) and Oil & Gas (down 0.19 per cent) ended with losses.
Experts' views on markets
"Positive European market cues triggered a relief rally in domestic benchmark indices as investors resorted to short covering after taking a hit last week on the back of sharp FII selling and weak global cues. However, the market may continue to stay wobbly due to weak macroeconomic scenarios and volatility in global currency markets due to an uptick in US bond yields," said Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Research (Retail) at Kotak Securities.
Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services said that a rebound in the global market after a significant correction prompted buying in domestic equities, particularly within the IT sector. However, the potential for volatility to linger in the near term remains due to the increasing dollar index and elevated US bond yields, fuelled by concerns about rate hikes.
"Investors are keenly observing the commentary from the Fed chair during its forthcoming summer conference for interest rate insights. Meanwhile, Asian markets displayed a mixed performance, reacting to the smaller-than-anticipated rate cut initiated by the Chinese central bank," said Nair.
Ajit Mishra, SVP - Technical Research at Religare Broking said market participants should not read much into this intermediate rebound or a pause until Nifty decisively reclaims the 19,650 level or forms a reversal pattern.
"We recommend continuing with a stock-specific trading approach and maintaining a focus on risk management," said Mishra.
Technical views on Nifty
Jatin Gedia, Technical Research Analyst at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas said that on the daily charts, the Nifty has been hovering around the 40-day moving average (19,360) for the past five trading sessions. Considering that the Nifty has been falling for the last four weeks, a pullback is likely.
On the hourly charts, Gedia pointed out that there is a positive divergence which shows that the momentum is weakening on the downside.
"As long as the Nifty trades below 19,480 – 19,500, we can expect the weakness to continue, and we should continue to maintain our negative outlook on the index. On the downside, we expect the Nifty to target levels of 19,100. Crucial support is placed at 19,280 – 19,240 while immediate hurdle is placed at 19,480 – 19,500," said Gedia.
Chouhan said as long as the Nifty is holding the level of 19,320, the bullish sentiment is likely to continue. Above this, the index could rally to 19,475-19,500. On the flip side, below 19,320, the uptrend would be vulnerable and the index could slip to 19,250-19,225, said Chouhan.
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Disclaimer: The views and recommendations above are those of individual analysts and broking companies, not of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.
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