Benchmark indices extended their Budget euphoria into second day on Wednesday, with the frontline indices ending over a per cent higher. Buying interest was spread across the board amid lower volatility and firm global cues. At close, the Sensex was up 695.76 points or 1.18 per cent at 59,558.33, and the Nifty was up 203.20 points or 1.16 per cent at 17,780. About 2243 shares have advanced, 1038 shares declined, and 90 shares are unchanged. IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finserv, HCL Technologies, Bajaj Finance and HDFC Life were the top Nifty gainers, while losers included Tech Mahindra, Britannia Industries, UltraTech Cement, Hero MotoCorp and Nestle India.
Financial stocks were the show-stoppers today as six of the top 10 Sensex contributors were either banks or NBFCs. IndusInd Bank and Bajaj Finserv were the leading gainers, up over 5 per cent each. They were followed by HCL Tech, Bajaj Finance, Kotak Bank, Axis Bank, Dr Reddy’s, HDFC twins, Wipro, ITC, TCS, Titan, SBI and HUL. All these stocks closed higher in the range of 1-3.5 per cent.
On the downside, Tech M slipped the most, down 1.6 per cent on the BSE, after the IT firm’s earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margin declined by 40bps quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) to 14.8 per cent in the December quarter (Q3FY22) due to salary hikes, higher sub costs and lower utilization. Nestle India, Ultratech Cement, L&T, Sun Pharma, and Maruti Suzuki India were the other top drags.
In the broader markets, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices also logged strong gains and ended 1 per cent and 1.6 per cent higher, respectively. Individually, the shares of Vodafone Idea (VIL) soared close to 12 per cent to Rs 11.95 on the BSE in Wednesday’s intra-day trade on the back of heavy volumes after Care Ratings (CARE) upgraded its rating on the company’s long term bank facilities and non-convertible debentures (NCD). The rating agency also assigned a ‘stable’ outlook. The stock closed over 6 per cent higher. Sectorally, the Nifty PSU Bank index was the top gainer today as it ended 3.4 per cent higher. This was followed by the Nifty Pharma, Metal, and Realty indices, all up between 1 and 1.4 per cent.
The domestic market continued its bull ride tracking budget cues and positive sentiments from global markets. Most sectors remained green while banking and finance stocks contributed most to the gain. Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Financial Services:”Global markets added its gain as strong earnings numbers helped investors to digest geopolitical worries. Besides corporate numbers, investors are also awaiting the outcome of OPEC+meeting and Eurozone inflation numbers for January.”
Mirroring the same thoughts, Ajit Mishra, vice precident, Research, Religare Broking, said: “Markets continued to trade buoyant and ended with gains of over a percent. Positive global cues combined with budget-led buoyancy triggered a gap-up start and the benchmark gradually inched higher as the day progressed.”
“Consequently, Nifty settled around the day’s high to close at 17,780 levels. Among the sectors, banking and financials were in the focus from the beginning, closely followed by media, healthcare and IT. In line with the move, the market breadth was also inclined strongly on the advancing side. Markets are currently riding high on the back of optimism post the Union Budget. Besides, global recovery and favourable earnings are also adding to the positivity. Amid all, one shouldn’t forget that the Nifty index is still in a trading range and 18,000-18,300 would continue to act as a hurdle. We feel participants should focus on identifying the sectors/themes which are trading in sync with the index. Among the sectors, banking and financials have the potential to outshine others,” said Misra.
Global Cues
The US stocks ended higher for the third straight day overnight amid high volatility, reflecting underlying nervousness in the markets. The Dow Jones and Nasdaq rose 0.8 per cent each, while the S&P 500 was up 0.7 per cent. After soaring over 17 per cent in January, oil prices started the new month on a flat note ahead of the crucial OPEC+ meeting hoping for a boost in supply. The OPEC+ members will meet tonight. Brent Crude was down 0.1 at $89.16 a barrel, and WTI Crude also added almost unchanged at $88.20 a barrel.
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