Sensex, Nifty end Samvat 2079 with marginal gains; CarTrade Tech jumps 19%; Nesco up 12%

Domestic equity markets settled flat for another session after a choppy trading session on Friday. However, benchmark indices reversed their entire cuts and settled slightly higher on the last day of Samvat 2024. Headline indices delivered about 9 per cent return in the accounting year ended today.

For the day, BSE's Sensex added 72.48 points, or 0.11 per cent, to end at 64,904.68. NSE's Nifty50 gained 30.05 points, or 0.15 per cent, to end the day at 19,425.35. Broader markets performed in-line with the benchmark indices as BSE midcap and smallcap indices added up one-third per cent each. Fear gauge India VIX spiked over a per cent to 11.11-mark.

The benchmark index is taking cues from the global market as the US central bank is not confident that headline inflation is under control and bond yields are mounting higher, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services. "Despite these concerns, the market has displayed strong resistance, anticipating that India's October inflation will be manageable and upside revision is expected for Q1FY24 GDP growth," he said.

Selective buying helped markets end marginally higher despite other Asian and European counterparts struggling on the back of selling pressure. Foreign fund outflows from the domestic market have been of concern. Also, the volatile US treasury yields have been prompting overseas investors to exit emerging markets over the past few months, said Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research) at Mehta Equities.

On a sectoral front, the Nifty media index dropped more than a per cent, while the Nifty IT and auto were other key laggards for the day. Among the gainers, Nifty metal and oil & gas indices were the top gainers, followed by the Nifty financial services and banking indices.

In the Nifty50 pack, NTPC and ONGC gained more than 2 per cent each, while the Tata Consumer Products, Tech Mahindra and Ultratech Cement gained more than a per cent each. On the contrary, Hero MotoCorp and Mahindra & Mahindra shed 2 per cent each, while HCL Technologies, Titan Company and Hindalco were down a per cent each.

A total of 3,820 shares were traded on BSE on Friday, of which 1,918 settled with gains. 1,767 stocks ended the session with cuts while 135 shares remained unchanged. During the day, 317 shares hit their upper circuit, whereas 220 shares tested the lower circuit levels for the day.

In the broader markets, CarTrade Tech surged more than 19 per cent, while Sharda Motor Industries gained over 13 per cent for the day. Nesco and Antony Waste rose 12 per cent each. Among the losers, Technocraft Industries (India), Veranda Learning Solutions and RPSG Ventures shed up to 8 per cent, each.

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