New Delhi: The tussle between bulls and bears was finally won by the former camp as equity markets ended the day in the positive territory for a third straight day. After oscillating 408 points through the day, the BSE Sensex index ended at 60,617 level, up 221 points or 0.37 per cent.
On the NSE, the Nifty50 shut shop at 18,056 levels, up 52.45 points or 0.29 per cent.
“Domestic benchmark indices showcased a flattish trend with positive bias as the market weighed the expectations of a strong quarter amid concerns over rising cases, supply issue and inflationary pressure. Global market was on the edge as Fed meeting minutes hinted at rate hikes, elevated US inflation and the awaited release of US CPI inflation data. Domestic inflation levels are also likely to be significant due to unfavourable base effect though food prices have declined during December,” highlighted Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Financial Services.
Private mortgage lender HDFC was the top contributor towards the Sensex’s total gains today, followed by RIL, HCL Tech, TCS, Infosys, Tech M, and HDFC Bank. All these counters were up between 1 per cent anf 4.4 per cent.
On the downside, Tata Steel (down 3.4 per cent), Bajaj Finance, Kotak Bank, ITC, and Dr Reddy’s were the top laggards. The broader markets were quiet today with the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices ending little changed.
AU Small Finance Bank, Trent, Gujarat Gas, Emami Paper Mills, Titagarh Wagon, and Texmaco Rail were the top gainers from the space. Gabriel India, Omaxe, Poonawalla Fincorp, Vodafone Idea, and Jindal Steel, on the other hand, were the biggest losers.
Separately, the shares of AU Small Finance Bank (SFB) hit a 10-week high of Rs 1,308, up 5.9 per cent on the BSE in Tuesday’s intra-day trade. The stock of the private sector lender was trading at its highest level since October 28, 2021. It had hit a 52-week high of Rs 1,389 on August 24, 2021.
Overall, 1,941 stocks advanced on the BSE while 1,505 declined and 67 ended flat. Among these, 615 stocks hit their respective upper circuits while just 7 hit lower circuits.
LIVE market updates: The BSE Sensex touched a high of 60,649, and was up 246 points at 60,642. The NSE Nifty had gained 63 points at 18,066.
HCL Technologies continues to remain the top gainer, up over 4 per cent at Rs 1,343. TCS gained a per cent, while Tech Mahindra and Infosys were up around 0.6 per cent each. Private home loan lender, HDFC had advanced 1.5 per cent. Reliance, Larsen & Toubro and SBI were the other notable gainers.
On the other hand, Tata Steel was the major loser, the stock shed 2.7 per cent at Rs 1,137. Asian Paints, Bajaj Finance and Kotak Bank were the other notable losers.
The broader markets had trimmed gains. The BSE Midcap index was up 0.1 per cent, while the Smallcap index had added 0.5 per cent.
As many as 601 stocks registered a fresh 52-week high in trades on Tuesday, while mere four stocks dropped to a new 52-week low.
