Comments
Benchmark indices erased early gains to end flat amid profit-booking and uncertainty of Q2 results.
After rallying in the first half amid firm global cues, the market turned volatile in the second half, erasing gains during closing hours as investors booked profits in IT and Metal. However, cement, automobile and realty stocks gained focus.
The BSE Sensex closed at 52,372.69, down 13.50 points or 0.03 per cent. It hit an intraday high of 52,700.51 and a low of 52,208.96. The Nifty 50 closed at 15,692.60, up 2.80 points or 0.02 per cent. It hit an intraday high of 15,789.20 and a low of 15,644.75.
Breadth remains positive
The breadth of the market remained positive, with 2,062 stocks advancing, 1,262 declining and 171 remaining unchanged on the BSE. As many as 620 securities hit the upper circuit and 228 lower ; 510 hit their 52-week high while 30 touched a 52-week low.
Binod Modi, Head Strategy at Reliance Securities, said, “Benchmark indices erased gains towards the final session of the day as profit booking in IT, metals and financial services dragged markets.”
“However, realty and cement stocks witnessed strong rebound today as ongoing revival in real estate market attracted investors’ attention,” added Modi.
Ultratech Cement, Grasim, Shree Cement, JSW Steel and SBI Life were the top gainers on the Nifty 50 while Adani Ports, BPCL, Bharti Airtel, Tata Steel and Infosys were the top laggards.
Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services said, "Domestic indices started with mild gains hovering around the flat line, however, it trimmed early gains tracking cues from its European peers ahead of the release of key inflation data later today. Shares of small finance banks were in focus today as the RBI allowed the reverse merger with their respective promoter entities.”
Realty stocks shine
On the sectoral front, Realty stocks gained focus.
On the BSE, BSE Realty hit a 10-year high of 3040.82 led by IndiaBulls Real Estate Ltd, which also recorded a fresh 52-week high of ₹140.25. It closed 15.05 per cent higher. All stocks on the BSE Realty Index closed in the green. Other top gainers, Mahindra Life, closed 7.37 per cent higher while Sunteck Realty closed 4.92 per cent higher.
On the NSE, Nifty Realty hit a fresh year high of 382.25. It closed 3.61 per cent higher.
“The realty stocks rallied as hopes of demand revival boosted the sector’s outlook,” said Nair.
IT, metals under pressure
Apart from Realty, Financials also gained as IT, Metals and FMCG remained under pressure.
Nifty IT was down 0.45 per cent at closing, while Nifty Metal was down 0.21 per cent.
Meanwhile, Nifty Bank and Nifty Financial Services were up 0.36 per cent and 0.10 per cent at closing. Nifty Private Bank was up 0.42 per cent while Nifty PSU Bank was up 0.18 per cent. Nifty Auto was up 0.17 per cent.
Broader indices outperform
Broader indices continued to outperform the benchmarks.
Nifty Midcap 50 was up 0.52 per cent at closing, while Nifty Smallcap 50 was up 0.45 per cent. The S&P BSE Midcap was up 0.40 per cent, while the S&P BSE Smallcap was up 0.75 per cent.
The volatility index rose 0.38 per cent to 12.99.
“Notably, midcap and smallcap stocks continued to outperform as improved prospects of earnings recovery augurs well for them,” said Modi.
S Ranganathan, Head of Research at LKP securities said, "Markets were volatile and profit booking was expected given the outperformance of the Midcap & Smallcap Indices. As a matter of fact, we have not witnessed such an outperformance for almost 7 years."
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.