Sensex rises 540 pts; Nifty regains 22k; Sobha, Engineers India jump up to 13%

Domestic equity markets settled sharply higher on Thursday following positive global cues. The equity markets saw all-round buying after the US Fed’s policy meeting, wherein it signalled interest rates coming down in coming months. Buoyant sentiments prevailed despite the weekly expiry of Nifty’s F&O contracts.

The BSE Sensex added 539.50 points, or 0.75 per cent, to 72,641.19, while NSE’s Nifty50 surged 172.85 points, or 0.79 per cent, to 22,011.95 for the day. Broader markets outperformed the headline indices as the BSE midcap and smallcap indices surged more than 2 per cent each.  Fear gauge India VIX tanked 7 per cent to 12.51-mark.

 

Markets surged strongly and gained nearly a percent, tracking favorable global cues. The Nifty oscillated in a narrow range after a gap-up opening. All the key sectors participated in the move. The buoyancy in the US markets is not only helping the index to cap the damage and also triggering a rebound in between, said Ajit Mishra, SVP – Technical Research at Religare Broking.

“The Nifty tested the immediate hurdle of the short-term moving average, that is, 20-EMA today but it couldn’t surpass it. We may see some consolidation now and need sustainability above 22,200 to mark any meaningful recovery. Participants should stay stock-specific until we see clarity over the next directional move and stick with the index majors and large midcaps,” he said.

All the sectoral indices settled in green for the day. The Nifty realty index surged 3 per cent, while the Nifty metal index gained more than 2.45 per cent. The Nifty PSU Bank index rose over 2 per cent. The Nifty Media index rose 1.8 per cent, while the Nifty oil & gas, consumer durables, pharma and auto indices gained 1-1.5 per cent each.

In the Nifty50 pack, NTPC and Bharat Petroleum surged more than 3.5 per cent each, while Power Grid, Tata Steel and Cola India rose more than 3 per cent each. IndusInd Bank and Tata Motors were other key gainers for the day. Among the laggards, Bharti Airtel shed 0.7 per cent, while HDFC Life Insurance Company fell 0.6 per cent for the day.

Domestic market is taking cues from the global market infusing optimism as the Federal Reserve signalled to remain on track for three interest rate cuts this year despite inflation staying above long-term target, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.

“The broader market outperformed the frontline index also taking advantage from the HSBC composite PMI data, which rose to 61.3 per cent in March as compared to 60.6 in February, indicating that the economic condition is supportive. Short-term traders are taking advantage of the oversold territory from the recent sell-off,” he said.

A total of 3,926 shares were traded on BSE on Wednesday, of which 2,759 settled with gains. 1,065 stocks ended the session with cuts while 102 shares remained unchanged. During the day, 411 shares hit their upper circuit, whereas 246 shares tested the lower circuit levels for the day.

In the broader markets, Sobha surged about 13 per cent, while Engineers India and eMudhra gained 12 per cent each. Bliss GVS Pharma rose 11 per cent, while Gravita India, Hi-Tech Pipes, Kamdhenu Ventures, Shiva Cement, Hitachi Energy India and IRB Infra were up 10 per cent each for the day.

Among the laggards, Paisalo Digital dropped about 6 per cent, while Jai Balaji Industries, MK Proteins and Sanmit Infra tumbled 5 per cent each. Waaree Renewable Technologies, Responsive Industries and Metro Brands declined 4 per cent each for the day.