Sensex, Nifty snap 3-day losing streak, Mastek, Titagarh Wagons surge up to 13%

Domestic equity markets snapped the three-day losing streak and settled in green. However, the gains were capped after a stiff tug-of-war between bulls and bears. Buying financials, banking, auto and utility stocks overshadowed the selling pressure in pharma, realty and IT stocks.

Selling pressure from both global and domestic investors is weighing the market sentiments, which are jittered by hawkish signals from the central banks. Even the corporate earnings from India have failed to boost the morale of the markets. Traders would keenly be awaiting numbers from Reliance Industries, scheduled to be released tomorrow.

For the day, the 30-share pack BSE Sensex added 64.55 points, or 0.11 per cent, to 59,632.35, while NSE's Nifty50 gained merely 5.7 points, or 0.03 per cent, to close at 17,624.45. Broader markets also settled almost flat as the BSE midcap index was slightly down, while the smallcap index rose marginally. Fear gauge India VIX dropped 2 per cent to 11.94 levels.

In the intraday session, after the flat opening, After making a day high of 17684, nifty traded below the 17650 level. The market remains sideways on the weekly index expiry day. For the third consecutive day, Nifty is unable to break Monday's high low and remains range bound, said Rohan Shah, head technical analyst at Stoxbox.

"Intraday traders can look for long opportunities only above 17,710 if the closing comes above 17,710 in a 15-minute chart. Traders can look for fresh shorts only if nifty breaks the 17,570 level & remains below for 15 min to ensure a short," he said.

Nifty Pharma and Healthcare indices emerged as the biggest laggards on a sectoral front as both indices dropped a per cent each. FMCG, Metals, Realty and IT indices also dragged the markets lower. On the upside, Banking, Financial Services and auto sectors pushed the indices higher.
 

In the Nifty50 pack, Divis Lab dropped over 4 per cent, followed by a per cent fall in Hindustan Unilever. Dr Reddy's Labs, Eicher Motors, Hindalco, Britannia and JSW Steel were down a per cent, each. Among the gainers, NTPC rose 2 per cent on the back of order wins. Adani Ports, Asian Paints and Bajaj Auto were among the other top gainers.

The ongoing Q4 earnings season is the focus area of the market. It has a negative bias due to lower than anticipated initial results announced, in especially the IT sector, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.
 

"The global market has been unsupportive due to expectation of another rate hike and mixed earnings released in the US. Given cautious global sentiment withdrawal by FIIs during the week has hampered the market trend," he said.

A total of 3,631 shares were traded on BSE on Thursday, of which 1,906 settled with gains. 1,589 stocks ended the session lower, while 136 shares remained unchanged. A total of 231 shares hit their upper circuit, whereas 126 tested the lower circuit levels for the day.

In the broader markets, Khadim India hit an upper circuit of 20 per cent. Mastak surged 13 per cent after strong revenue growth in Q4, while Rajratan Global Wire advanced 12 per cent after Q4 earnings. SML Isuzu and Titagarh Wagons settled 10 per cent higher each.
 

On the contrary, Alok Industries dropped more than 7 per cent after the company reported a disappointing performance in the March 2023 quarter. Optiemus Infracom also declined 7 per cent for the day. Balaji Amines, Tasty Bite Eatable and Awas Financiers ended 5 per cent lower, each.

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