Sensex rises 170 points, Nifty tops 17,800; Gujarat PSU stocks rally up to 20%; Ipca Labs tanks 5%

Domestic equity markets extended their gains for the straight fifth session. Benchmark indices settled with decent gains on Wednesday, ignoring the muted global cues. Global stocks were under pressure after muted earnings by key mega-caps and banks.

Increasing risks from El Nino, the heavyweight oil cartel's surprise output cut and banking risks in some advanced economies remain the key near-term overhangs. Also, traders will be looking at the expiry of F&O derivatives for the April series on Thursday.

For the day, the 30-share pack BSE Sensex rose 169.87 points, or 0.28 per cent, to settle at 60,300.58. NSE's Nifty50 gained 44.35 points, or 0.25 per cent, to close at 17,813.60. Broader markets were in line with the headline peers as BSE midcap and smallcap indices added about one-third per cent each. Fear gauge India VIX rose over a per cent to 11.65 level.

Investors are likely to have covered their positions ahead of the monthly F&O expiry on Thursday. Markets shrugging off global weakness is an indication that our fundamentals remain intact and investors are willing to stay risk-on in Indian equities. But ahead of the US Federal Reserve policy next month, markets may take cues from global direction to exercise caution, said Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research (Retail), Kotak Securities.

"Technically, after a reversal formation, the market is hovering between 17,700-17,830 price ranges. For the bulls now, 17,830 would be the range breakout zone. Above this, the index could move up to 17,900-17,950. On the flip side, the dismissal of 17,700 may accelerate the selling pressure. Below which, the index could slip till 17,650-17,625," he said.

On a sectoral front, no major changes were seen, barring the Nifty Realty index, which rose over a per cent. Nifty FMCG and PSU Bank indices were among the other top gainers. Only Nifty metal, Healthcare and Oil & Gas indices settled in the red.

In the Nifty50 pack, Power Grid dropped about 3 per cent, while Tata Consumer Products was up 2 per cent for the day. Nestle India, IndusInd Bank, SBI Life Insurance, Larsen & Toubro and HCL Technologies were among the other top gainers, rising more than a per cent, each.

Among the losers, Adani Enterprises and Hindalco dropped over a per cent, each. Bajaj Auto and Bajaj Finserv were down about a per cent, each. NTPC, Reliance Industries, Divi's Lab and Bajaj Finance were among the other top losers on the index for the day.

The domestic bourses mirrored the mood on Wall Street as soft economic data and underwhelming earnings dragged US equities to a weak close yesterday, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

"However, the market gradually recovered after an uptick in US futures, with the earnings of tech companies providing support. Adding to investors' concerns about a possible recession, the US consumer confidence data for April hit a nine-month low ahead of the upcoming Fed policy meeting," he said.

A total of 3,631 shares were traded on BSE on Wednesday, of which 1,916 settled in green. 1,572 stocks ended the session with gains, while 143 shares remained unchanged. A total of 199 shares hit their upper circuit, whereas 120 tested the lower circuit levels for the day.

In the broader markets, Gujarat Industries Power, Gujarat State Fertilizers & Chemicals (GSFC), Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation (GMDC) and Gujarat Alkalies & Chemicals surged up to 20 per cent after the state government announced a new policy of compulsory dividends and bonus shares. State Trading Corporation of India jumped over 13 per cent.

Radhe Developers (India) extended its losses and tumbled more than 9 per cent. Multi Commodity Exchange of India dropped over 6 per cent as its Chief Technology Officer Shashank Sathe resigned from the company. Ipca Labs dropped over 5 per cent after acquiring a big stake in Unichem Labs. Brightcom Group hit lower price band of 5 per cent, extending its fall for the straight 12th session.

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