Sensex, Nifty settle higher in volatile trade; AU Bank rallies 17%, IDBI Bank surged 10%

Bulls had an upper hand over bears at Dalal Street on Thursday as the benchmark indices settled higher for the ninth straight session for a tight tug of war. However, buying in the banking and financial counter shadowed the selling in IT and technology counters.

For the day, the 30-share pack BSE Sensex gained 38.23 points, or 0.06 per cent, to 60,431, while NSE's Nifty50 added 15.60 points, or 0.09 per cent, to 17,828. In the broader markets, BSE midcap and smallcap indices added about one-third per cent, each. Fear gauge India VIX shed about 3 per cent to 11.91-level.

Benchmark indices maintained their winning streak, but the sharp intra-day gyration shows that the rally could be losing steam given the continuous upward movement over the past week or so. The market seems to be in an overbought zone and profit-taking could emerge in the next few sessions, said Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research (Retail), Kotak Securities.

"Technically, the market is trading above the 50- and 200-day SMA and on intraday charts it is holding a higher bottom formation which is largely positive. However, momentum indicators are indicating temporary overbought conditions and due to this, we could see range-bound activity in the near future. For the bulls now, 17,700-17,600 would be the key support areas while 17,900-18,000 would act as a crucial resistance zone for the traders," he said.

Among the sectors, Nifty IT index emerged as the top laggard and dropped more than 2 per cent, Nifty Media and Pharma indices shed a per cent each for the day. On the contrary, Nifty Bank and Realty indices led the rally as both indices were up a per cent each, followed by Nifty Financial Services index.

In the Nifty50 pack, IndusInd Bank, HDFC Live and Eicher Motors led the gainers, rising 3 per cent, each. Apollo Hospitals, Power Grid and Axis Bank rose 2 per cent, each. On the downside, Infosys plunged 3 per cent ahead of its Q4 earnings. Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech and TCS shed 2 per cent, each.

Indian shares experienced a downturn, weighed down by IT stocks following weak quarterly earnings and a cautious outlook from the top IT firm, which flagged apprehensions over deferred spending and uncertainty in its BFSI segment, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

"The decrease in CPI inflation to 5.66% in India, coupled with the moderation of core inflation, supports the decision of the MPC to keep policy rates on hold. While US inflation cooled to 5 per cent, anxieties grew globally after the FOMC minutes hinted at a possible 'mild recession' due to the impact of banking turmoil," he said.
 

A total of 3,610 shares were traded on BSE on Thursday, of which 1,911 settled with gains. 1,581 stocks ended the session lower, while 118 shares remained unchanged. A total of 273 shares hit their upper circuit, whereas 83 tested the lower circuit levels for the day.

In the broader markets, Mangalam Organics hit an upper circuit of 20 per cent. AU Small Finance Bank surged 17 per cent after RBI okayed the re-appointment of its MD and CEO till April 2026. DB Realty jumped over 13 per cent, while IDBI Bank and Max Ventures and Industries settled 10 per cent higher each for the day.

On the other hand, Brightcom Group hit a lower circuit of 5 per cent to Rs 15.42. Archean Chemical Industries also plunged 5 per cent. PNB Housing Finance and LTIMindTree declined 4 per cent each for the day.

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