Sensex jumps 405 points; Nifty settles near 19,550; Infibeam Avenues, Edelweiss surge up to 13%

BSE’s barometer Sensex surged 405.53 points, or 0.62 per cent, to settle at 65,631.57, while NSE’s Nifty50 tanked 109.65 points, or 0.56 per cent, to end at 19,545.75 for the day.

Domestic equity benchmarks made a smart recovery during the trading session on Thursday amid the weekly expiry of the F&O contracts. Buying the heavyweight sectors, coupled with positive global cues such as a drop in oil prices and eased down US bond yields, supported investor sentiment at Dalal Street.

For the day, BSE’s barometer Sensex surged 405.53 points, or 0.62 per cent, to settle at 65,631.57. NSE’s Nifty50 tanked 109.65 points, or 0.56 per cent, to end at 19,545.75. Broader markets underperformed the headline indices as the BSE midcap index settled slightly down, while the BSE smallcap index rose half-a-per cent. Fear gauge India VIX dropped about 6 per cent to 10.96-level.

Recovery in global markets followed by a sharp drop in international crude oil prices and steady trend in US bond yields triggered a relief rally in domestic shares after two sessions of losses. Buying in IT, banking, auto and capital goods stocks led the upsurge whereas selective profit-taking trimmed gains, said Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Research (Retail), Kotak Securities.

“Technically, as long as the Nifty is holding at the 19450 level the positive sentiment is likely to continue. On the higher side, the 50-day SMA 19610 and 19675 would be immediate hurdles. On the flip side, below 19450 level, uptrend would be vulnerable,” he added.

Among the sectors, the Nifty media index gained about 2 per cent, while the Nifty IT and auto indices added about a per cent each. The Nifty financial services and consumer durable indices were the other key gainers for the day. The Nifty PSU Bank index shed half-a-per cent, while pharma, metal, healthcare and FMCG indices also settled in red.

In the Nifty50 pack, Bajaj Auto and Larsen & Toubro gained more than 2 per cent each, while the Mahindra & Mahindra and Titan Company also posted similar gains. Tata Consultancy Services, Maruti Suzuki, Eicher Motors, Infosys, Hero MotoCorp, ICICI Bank and Asian Paints added a per cent each.

On the downside, Power Grid declined more than a per cent, while Hindalco, NTPC, Cipla, Nestle India, Tata Consumer Products, HCL Technologies and Divis Laboratories were the other top laggards for the day in the blue-chip pack.

The positive signal from the PMI data and the correction in the crude price boosted the market sentiment. Reduction in FIIs selling rebound sectors like bank and IT shares today, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services. “While regarding RBI policy, positively, the market expects the interest rate to be hold-on as external demand outlook indicates muted trend fearing disinflationary trend in the future,” he added.

A total of 3785 shares were traded on BSE on Thursday, of which 2,275 settled with gains, 1,386 stocks ended the session with cuts while 124 shares remained unchanged. During the day, 359 shares hit their upper circuit, whereas 187 shares tested the lower circuit levels for the day.

In the broader markets, Goodluck India gained about 17 per cent, while Infibeam Avenues surged more than 13 per cent for the day. Edelweiss Financial Services and Entertainment Network (India) gained more than 12 per cent each. Oswal Greentech and Jai Corp gained about 11 per cent each for the day.

Among the losers, Kalyani Steels declined about 7 per cent, while NCL Industries and Marico dropped more than 5 per cent each. CE Infosystems and Hatsun Agro Products dropped about 4 per cent each, while Jindal Stainless, Punjab National Bank and Spandana Sphoorty Financial shed 3 per cent each.