Sensex ends 162 points higher, Nifty at 11,937; Bharti Airtel, Tata Steel, NTPC, HDFC Bank top gainers

After a volatile trading session, market indices closed bullish on Wednesday, amid mixed cues from global markets. Extending gains for the fourth straight session, Sensex ended 162 points higher at 40,707 and NSE Nifty 50 gained 40 points to close at 11,937. Yesterday, Sensex ended 112 points higher at 40,544 and Nifty gained 23 points to settle at 11,896.

Sectorally, barring FMCG, IT, media and auto indices, all other sectors closed in the green. The realty index ended 4% higher, followed by a 2% gain in metal and 1.5% rise each in banking and financial sectors.

PowerGrid, followed by Bharti Airtel, Tata Steel, NTPC, HDFC Bank, UltraTech Cement and Kotak Bank were among the top gainers on the Sensex pack. On the other hand, TCS, Nestle India, Reliance Industries and HCL Tech were among the laggards.

S Ranganathan, Head of Research at LKP Securities said,"Indices managed to close in the Green today but not without its share of hiccups over rumours on waiver of interest on loans. Banks & Metals provided support even as we saw profit booking in several stocks during afternoon trade. Select PSU names were sought after by funds in today's volatile session".

Overseas, Asian stocks that opened bullish today turned volatile by the afternoon session, tracking weak cues from European markets. On the other hand, Wall Street indices closed higher Tuesday on growing optimism that US lawmakers are nearing a deal on a stimulus package.

European markets continued to trade lower today as concerns over rising coronavirus cases and worries of a fresh set of lockdowns across the Euro region. Moreover, sentiments turned cautious after the UK government reported that its borrowing rose to the highest level on record in the first half of the financial year.

On markets closing today, Manish Hathiramani, Proprietary Index Trader and Technical Analyst, Deen Dayal Investments said,"Despite being close to the 12,050 levels, we were unable to get past that. The Nifty reacted sharply from that zone of 12,000-12,050 and has resumed it's sideways movements. For any up move to commence, it is imperative we cross 12,050 as that will lead the index to 12,200-12,300 levels. On the flip side, the support is at 11650 and till we do not break that, we are going to be rangebound with a positive bias."

Commenting on Nifty's near term outlook, Sameet Chavan (Chief Analyst-Technical and Derivatives, Angel Broking) said,"The stock-specific action continued within the range and on the short term charts, it is observed that the trading range for the index has shrunk to 11,800-12,000. Markets seem to be waiting for some trigger to come of this range and a directional move is expected only post a breakout. A move beyond 12,000 would bring back the optimism to lead the indices higher. Till then, traders are advised to continue to trade with a stock-specific approach."

Meanwhile, September quarterly earnings announcements by Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Finance, UltraTech Cement, Syngene, GMM Pfaudler, DB Corp and Colgate Palmolive will also set the tone for the stock market tomorrow.

On the currency front, Indian rupee pared earlier gains and settled 9 paise lower at 73.58 per dollar on Wednesday, over its previous close of 73.49, amid weak cues from Asian equities.

Commenting on Rupee, Sugandha Sachdeva VP-Metals, Energy & Currency Research, Religare Broking said,"As of now, we are expecting the rupee to trade with a depreciating bias in the near-term, given RBI's persistent attempts to cap upside in the unit. Moreover, the dollar index also has some scope to rebound from current levels, if the US stimulus package does not materialise. Volatility on the local unit is expected to increase in the run-up to the US elections, and the rupee could depreciate towards the 74.20 mark in the coming sessions."

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