Bulls put up a fight as market ends 5-day losing streak 

Benchmark indices ended a volatile session on a positive note, closing higher on Tuesday after five consecutive session of losses.

Market opened on a negative note despite a sharp recovery in the US market. Indices slumped further during the early trade as selling pressure continued. However, it staged a sharp recovery in the second half with indices gaining further during closing hours, led by auto and financials. 

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The BSE Sensex closed at 57,858.15, up 366.64 points or 0.64 per cent. It recorded an intraday high of 57,966.93 and a low of 56,409.63. The Nifty 50 closed at 17,277.95, up 128.85 points or 0.75 per cent. It recorded an intraday high of 17,309.15 and a low of 16,836.80.

Breadth turns positive

The breadth of the market turned positive with as many as 1,979 stocks advancing on the BSE compared to 1.366 stocks declining, while 89 remained unchanged. As many as 460 stocks hit the lower circuit and 258 others were locked in the upper circuit. Besides, 136 stocks touched a 52-week high and 64 touched a 52-week low.

The volatility index softened 6.42 per cent to close at 21.36.

S Ranganathan, Head of Research at LKP securities, said, ‘‘Investors bought into the 1,000 point dip in the Sensex today morning as banks and autos led the recovery.”

“As markets approach important near term events, the mood appeared circumspect, although on the positive side, the street is going into the Union Budget much lighter post the recent correction. Afternoon trade witnessed investor appetite in stocks of PSE, and the advance-decline ratio ended the day on a positive note,” Ranganathan said.

Analysts expect market volatility to continue ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s two-day meet (Tuesday and Wednesday) and F&O settlement on Thursday. The market will remain closed on January 26 on account of the Republic Day.

Mitul Shah, Head Of Research at Reliance Securities, said, “Domestic equities came back with a strong gain to close higher after a sell-off in the first half of trade. Market witnessed huge volatility during the day. US equities clawed back losses and closed in green. The markets looked ahead to a busy week of corporate results, economic data and a Federal Reserve monetary policy meeting.”

Maruti, Axis Bank, State Bank of India, IndusInd Bank and UPL were among the top gainers on the Nifty 50 while Wipro, Bajaj Finserv, Titan, Ultratech Cement and Tech Mahindra were the top losers. 

IT under pressure

On the sectoral front, all indices except the Nifty IT closed in the green. The index closed 0.33 per cent in the red.

The Nifty PSU Bank recorded the highest gains, closing 4.24 per cent higher. Nifty Bank, Nifty Private Bank and Nifty Financial Services closed 2.05, 2.11, and 0.89 per cent higher, respectively. Nifty Auto was up 2.32 per cent.

Nifty Realty was up 1.82 per cent while Nifty FMCG was up 1.23 per cent. Nifty Metal was up 1.19 per cent while Nifty Oil & Gas was up 0.90 per cent. 

Broader indices

The broader market recovered sharply from heavy losses in the past session with broader indices closing higher.

Nifty Midcap 50 was up 1.34 per cent while Nifty Smallcap 50 was up 1.17 per cent. The S&P BSE Midcap was up 1.03 per cent while the S&P BSE Smallcap was down 0.81 per cent.

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