Most Adani Group stocks, recovered from early losses, to settle higher. Adani Enterprises gained 3 per cent, while Adani Ports and Adani Power added a per cent each. After a day's hiatus, domestic equity markets were back in green on Thursday despite the volatility led by monthly derivative contracts expiry. Dalal Street's headline indices opened lower but managed to end with gains amid a lack of any breakthrough in the US debt ceiling talks.
For the day, the 30-share pack BSE Sensex added 98.84 points, or 0.16 per cent, to settle at 61,872.62, while NSE's Nifty50 jumped 35.75 points, or 0.20 per cent, to end the session at 18,321.15. Broader markets outperformed the headline peers as BSE midcap and smallcap indices added one-third per cent each. Fear gauge India VIX dropped about 5 per cent to 12.52-level. Markets oscillated in a narrow range on the monthly expiry day and settled marginally higher. After the flat start, the Nifty slipped gradually lower however support around the 18,200 zones triggered a steady rebound in the final hours. Most sectors traded in sync and ended flat, said Ajit Mishra, VP - Technical Research, Religare Broking. "We feel the prevailing consolidation may continue in the index citing mixed indications. While there’s no shortage of trading opportunities, traders should focus more on handling intermediate volatility. Besides, the focus should be on sectors/stocks which are showing consistency in their trend instead of betting on laggards. To reclaim positivity and momentum, we need a decisive close above 18400 in Nifty," he said. On a sectoral front, Nifty Realty Index rose more than a per cent, followed by Nifty FMCG index, with about a per cent gain. Nifty Auto, Metal and Consumer Durable indices were also among other key gainers for the day. On the downside, Nifty PSU Bank and Healthcare indices were the biggest laggards. Most Adani Group stocks recovered from early losses, to settle higher. Adani Enterprises gained 3 per cent, while Adani Ports and Adani Power added a per cent, each. Adani Total Gas also settled in green and NDTV hit an upper circuit of 5 per cent. Adani Transmission, Adani Green Energy, Ambuja Cements and ACC ended the session with cuts. In the Nifty50 index, Bajaj Auto topped the gainers and surged 3 per cent, followed by Bharti Airtel, while posting similar gains. ITC, Divis Labs and Eicher Motors gained 2 per cent, each. Tata Consumer Products, HDFC Life Insurance Company, Britannia Industries, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Apollo Hospitals were up a per cent, each. Among the losers, Wipro shed over a per cent, followed by Tata Motors, IndusInd Bank, UPL, Sun Pharma and Hindalco, which were down about a per cent, each. HDFC, Hindustan Unilever, Coal India, State Bank of India, Ultratech Cement, Dr Reddy's Labs and TCS were other key laggards. Global markets maintained their influence, exerting downward pressure on the domestic market in response to weaker cues from the US market and the recession in Germany, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services. "As US futures rose, propelled by a sharp increase in sales projections from chipmaker Nvidia, the domestic market was able to efficiently recoup its earlier losses," he said. A total of 3,611 shares were traded on BSE on Thursday, of which 1,891 settled with cuts. 16,02 stocks ended the session lower while 118 shares remained unchanged. A total of 177 shares hit their upper circuit, whereas 119 shares tested the lower circuit levels for the day. Hindware Home Innovation surged 12 per cent for the day, while Mishtann Foods gained 10 per cent after strong Q4 numbers. Dynamic Cables surged 8 per cent to hit its new 52-week high after the company reported a net profit of Rs 10 crore with a revenue of Rs 179.61 crore for the day. Among the losers, Lincoln Pharma dropped over 11 per cent after a flop show in March 2023 quarter, Pennar Industries was down 9 per cent for the day. Shreyas Shipping ended 7 per cent down after announcing a floor price of Rs 292 per share for the purpose of delisting.