The market began the trading on a volatile note as the key indices reversed early gains to sink in the negative zone and finally ended with moderate gains. The Sensex rose 186.24 points or 0.52 per cent to settle at 36,254.57, its highest closing level since 20 December 2018.
The Nifty 50 Index rose 47.55 points or 0.44 per cent to settle at 10,910.10, its highest closing level since 20 December 2018.
The Mid-cap Index fell 0.08 per cent and Small-cap Index rose 0.41 per cent.
Bharti Airtel), HDFC, Yes Bank, HDFC Bank, State Bank of India, Axis Bank and ICICI Bank, were the major gainers, while Tata Steel, ONGC, Hindustan Unilever, Wipro, IndusInd Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank, were the major losers.
Among the sectoral indices on BSE, the Realty Index (up 2.21 per cent), Telecom (up 1.46 per cent) and Finance (up 0.90 per cent) outperformed the Sensex while Metal (down 0.74 per cent), Auto (down 0.52 per cent) and Basic materials (down 0.30 per cent) underperformed the Sensex.
Technical view
Sameet Chavan, chief analyst-technical and derivatives at Angel Broking, said, “The markets kicked off the day marginally higher in the absence of participation from the global peers. The index remained under tremendous pressure and in the process, the Nifty slipped towards the 10,800 mark. However, despite being the outlier, markets saw good buying at lower levels and in fact, due to complete gush in some of the individual pockets, the Nifty went on to close around day’s high by surpassing the 10,900 mark.
“We certainly had a head start for the new calendar year and the way it’s shaped up now, we will not be surprised to see Nifty opening with an upside gap on Wednesday beyond the key resistance level of 10,924. The banking index too had a fantastic day as we saw late surge in private banking giant ICICI bank. Hence, the banking pocket is now likely to lead from the front.”
Market view
Vinod Nair, head of research, Geojit Financial Services, said, “Expectations of weak monthly auto sales & slower industrial November data, concerned the market. But market inched up by the end of the day, led by banking sector on account of capital infusion and improvement in NPA situation. Additionally, market will focus on the upcoming Q3 earnings and government fiscal plans in the coming days, while global headwinds might add volatility.”
—Ashwin Punnen
Bank stocks were in demand on Tuesday after the government infused Rs 10,882 crore in four public sector lenders, with UCO Bank surging over 12 per cent.
The Competition Commission on Tuesday said it has approved Renascent Power Ventures’ acquisition of 75 per cent stake in Prayagraj Power Generation.
Indian markets are likely to remain volatile this calendar year, as macro headwinds are rising.
The benchmark 10-year yield may continue to soften on rising hopes of interest rate cut by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) as inflation indices continue to head downwards.