Sensex adds 152 pts, Nifty settles at 19575; MMTC, Dish TV, KIOCL rally up to 20%

Domestic equity markets continued to move higher on Tuesday as the headline indices managed to post mild gains after a choppy and range-bound trading session. For the day, the 30-share pack BSE Sensex gained 152.12 points, or 0.23 per cent, to settle at 65,780.26, while NSE's Nifty gained 46.10 points, or 0.24 per cent, to close at 19,574.90. Broader markets outperformed the headline peers as the BSE midcap and smallcap indices gained about a per cent each. Fear gauge India VIX eased more than a per cent to 10.82-level. While markets extended gains for the third straight session, the mood was more or less range-bound with a positive bias as US markets were shut on Monday and investors preferred to take selective bets. One needs to be watchful about the sharp volatility in rupee, which could impact FII flows going ahead, said Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Research (Retail), Kotak Securities. "The Nifty is comfortably trading above the 50- and 20-day SMA and on intraday charts it has been forming a higher bottom formation. The 19,500 level would be the sacrosanct support zone for Nifty and above the same, the index could move up till 19,620-19,650. On the flip side, below 19,500 bulls may prefer to exit from long positions and could slip till 19,450-19,420," he said. On a sectoral front, the Nifty Media index topped the gainers and rose more than 3 per cent for the day. The NIfty healthcare index gained about 2 per cent, while the Nifty realty and pharma indices rose more than a per cent each. Among the losers, the Nifty financial services and auto indices settled in red. After an initial uptick, banking counters dragged the index lower. However, it was the Pharma and Metal stocks which came to the rescue and helped the index. Among the sectors, Media and Realty were the outperformers while Mid and Smallcap indices extended their streak of outperformance, said Aditya Gaggar, Director at Progressive Shares. In the Nifty50 index, Apollo Hospital Enterprises and Coal India surged more than 3 per cent each, followed by Sun Pharmaceuticals, Bharat Petroleum and ITC, which added 2 per cent each. Bajaj Auto, Nestle India, Bajaj Finance, Larsen & Toubro and Titan Company were the other key gainers for the day. Among the losers, Ultratech Cement, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, SBI Life Insurance Company and Maruti Suzuki India dropped more than a per cent each. Eicher Motors, Tech Motors, HDFC Bank and Wipro were among the other losers for the day. Strong domestic factors are providing crucial support for Indian equities, allowing them to maintain their strength despite attempts by weak global peers to disrupt the mood, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services. "India's service PMI remains robust at 60.2, indicating sustained demand even in the face of inflationary pressures. Notably, small and mid-cap stocks have been standout performers, with both indices reaching all-time highs. Conversely, the weak Chinese service PMI has cast a shadow on hopes of an economic rebound in China, impacting global market sentiments," he said. A total of 3,817 shares were traded on BSE on Tuesday, of which 2,143 settled with gains. 1,530 stocks ended the session with cuts while 144 shares remained unchanged. A total of 383 shares hit their upper circuit, whereas 175 shares tested the lower circuit levels for the day. In the broader market, 3I Infotech, MMTC, Dish TV hit an upper circuit of 20 per cent each, while KIOCL rallied 16 per cent, while Precision Camshafts and Zee Media Corporation gained 15 per cent each for the day. Arihant Capital Markets, Federal Mogul Goetze (India) and Himadri Specialty Chemicals rose 11 per cent each. Among the losers, Oswal Greentech dropped 7 per cent, while Magadh Sugar & Energy declined 6 per cent for the day. Man Industries (India), Pitti Engineering, Indraprastha Medical Corp,  Balaji Telefilms and RattanIndia Power dropped 5 per cent each for the day.