Benchmark indices rebounded sharply during closing hours to end on a record high for the second consecutive session on Tuesday, led by IT and FMCG stocks.
Market, after opening on a choppy note, following mixed global cues, remained volatile through the day. Profit-booking was witnessed in metals and financials.
The BSE Sensex, after recording a new all-time high of 55,854.88, closed at 55,792.27, up 209.69 points or 0.38 per cent. It recorded an intraday low of 55,386.49. The Nifty 50, which crossed the 16,600-mark with a fresh high of 16,628.55, closed at 16,614.60, up 51.55 points or 0.31 per cent. It hit an intraday low of 16,495.40.
Decliners outnumber advancers
Despite benchmarks gathering speed, the breadth of the market remained in favour of decliners. As many as 2,036 stocks declined on the BSE, while 1,136 stocks advanced and 116 remained unchanged. Furthermore, 382 stocks hit the lower circuit as compared to the 255 stocks that hit the upper circuit; 215 stocks touched a 52-week high and 35 touched a 52-week low
S Ranganathan, Head of Research at LKP securities, said, “The rally in IT stocks kept bulls firmly in control despite a truncated week with several high-quality midcap names rallying in the expansionary phase over the last several months. Metal names, though, met with profit-taking in today’s trade. While worries over the deterioration in asset quality in private sector banks persist, the recent lull in the progress of the monsoon needs to be watched closely.”
Tata Consumer, Wipro, Tech Mahindra, Hindustan Unilever and Nestle India were the top gainers on the Nifty 50 while JSW Steel, Adani Ports, Tata Motors, Coal India and UPL were the top laggards.
Dr VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, said, “India’s IT sector is on a roll. Covid putting digitisation on fast-forward mode has improved the prospects of IT companies. India’s IT majors expect this upcycle to continue for 3-4 years. However, non-availability of requisite talent, high level of attrition and rising employee costs are likely to pose challenges for the industry.”
IT in focus, metals lose shine
On the sectoral front, while IT, FMCG and healthcare stocks gained focus, metals, financials and realty dragged.
Nifty IT was up 2.57 per cent at closing while Nifty Healthcare Index was up 1.72 per cent. Nifty FMCG was up 1.42 per cent. Nifty Consumer Durables was up 0.64 per cent.
Nifty Metal was down 2.30 per cent. Nifty Bank and Nifty Financial Services were down 0.63 per cent and 0.29 per cent, respectively. Nifty PSU Bank was down 1.79 per cent while Nifty Private Bank was down 0.82 per cent. Nifty Realty was down 0.70 per cent.
Broader indices
As for broader indices, Nifty Midcap 50 was down 0.31 per cent while Nifty Smallcap 50 was down 0.56 per cent. The S&P BSE Midcap, however, ended 0.71 per cent higher while the S&P BSE Smallcap was up 0.30 per cent.
The volatility index softened 0.33 per cent to 13.41.