Benchmark Indian equity indices, the BSE Sensex and the Nifty 50, opened slightly higher on Wednesday, tracking modest global cues.
Stock Market Today: Benchmark equity indices BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty 50 ended Wednesday’s session on a positive note, extending their winning streak for the fourth consecutive session. The Sensex settled up 110.58 points, or 0.14 percent, at 80,956.33, trading in a range of 81,245.39-80,630.53.
The NSE Nifty 50 ended up 10.30 points, or 0.04 per cent, at 24,467.45. During intra-day trade, the Nifty 50 touched an intra-day high of 24,573.20, while the intra-day low was seen at 24,366.30.
Among the 50 constituents on the Nifty 50, 30 stocks ended in the red, dragged down by Bharti Airtel, Cipla, Bajaj Auto, Tata Motors, and Adani Ports, with losses extending to 2.28 percent. On the other hand, HDFC Life, HDFC Bank, Apollo Hospitals, NTPC, and Bajaj Finsar were among the 20 stocks that ended in the green, gaining as much as 2.52%.
Notably, index heavyweight HDFC Bank closed at a record high of Rs 1,860, after touching a 52-week high of Rs 1,865 during intraday trade on Wednesday. HDFC Bank alone contributed 217 points to the BSE Sensex; Had it not been for HDFC Bank, the market could have ended in the negative zone.
The broader markets outperformed the benchmarks, with the Nifty Mid-Cap 100 index ending 1.05 percent higher. The Nifty Small Cap 100 index also ended in the green with a gain of 0.89 percent.
The fear index, India VIX, which gauges volatility in markets, ended up 0.86 percent at 14.50 points.
Banking stocks were the best performers on Wednesday, as the Nifty PSU Bank Index ended as the top gainer among the sectoral indices, up over 2.25 percent. Bank Nifty and Nifty Private Bank Index ended up 1.08 percent and 0.86 percent respectively. Among others, the Nifty Financials, IT, Realty, and Healthcare indices rose up to 2.14 percent, while the Nifty Auto, Metal, Pharma, FMCG, and OMC indices settled in the red with losses of up to 0.71 percent. happened
Global indicators
Markets in the Asia-Pacific region were trading lower after South Korean President Yoon Suk-yul briefly imposed and later lifted martial law. South Korea’s Kospi index fell 1.8 percent, while the Kosdaq fell 2.18 percent.
Other Asian markets were also down, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 down 0.3 percent, Topex down 0.4 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index down 0.16 percent, CSI 300 down 0.27 percent and the Shanghai Composite down 0.13 percent. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.55%.
In the US, both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite closed at record highs overnight, while the Dow Jones edged lower. Investors also absorbed reassuring comments from Federal Reserve officials, who indicated that inflation was on track to reach the central bank’s 2% target, along with a “solid” job market.