Sensex ends flat, Nifty adds 40 pts in special session; Tata steel rises 4; Auro Pharma up 5%

Domestic equity markets finally settled marginally higher, even as the headline indices scaled new highs, during the special trading session on Saturday, whose second session finally concluded at 12.30 pm. The first half of trade was conducted between 9.15 am to 10 am.

The 30-share pack Sensex was just shy of 74,000-mark as it scaled new highs of 73,994.70 for the day. However, BSE's barometer finally settled 60.80 points, or 0.08 per cent, higher at 73,806.15. NSE's Nifty 50 topped 22,400 mark, but ended at 22,378.40, adding 39.65 points, or 0.18 per cent, from the previous close on Friday.

Broader markets outperformed the headline peers as the BSE midcap and smallcap indices added two-third a per cent each. Fear gauge India VIX dropped over 1.5 per cent to slip below 15-level. Barring the Nifty private bank indices, all sectoral indices of Nifty managed to end the day in green, with the Nifty media and metal indices as the biggest gainers.

Tata Steel led the gainers in the Nifty50 pack, with its 3.6 per cent rally, followed by the Hero MotoCorp, which rose 1.57 per cent. Tata Motors, Adani Ports, Hindalco and JSW Steel also added a per cent each. Mahindra & Mahindra and Maruti Suzuki were top losers, shedding two-third per cent each. NTPC was down half a per cent for the day.

The US market showed a strong move to the upside on Friday. With the extended upward move, the Nasdaq and S&P 500 reached new record closing highs. Wall Street rose following a report from the Institute for Supply Management showing manufacturing activity in the US unexpectedly contracted in February, said Avdhut Bagkar Technical and Derivatives Analyst at StoxBox.

"On the domestic front, Indian shares rallied on Friday to hit record highs, buoyed by positive global cues and upbeat Q3 GDP data On the sectoral front, automobile passenger vehicle (PV) sales continued to move upward for the second month this year as carmakers dispatched nearly 373,177 units to their dealers, per industry data," he added.

A dozen stocks hit the upper circuit limit of 5 per cent for the day. The list included Tata Investment Corporation, Jubilant Industries, Zen Technologies, Waaree Renewable Technologies, Max Healthcare Institute, Data Patterns (India), Ethos, Aurobindo Pharma, Indian Energy Exchange, Hemisphere Properties, Rico Auto Industries and Suven Pharma among others.

On the downside, five stocks namely- Apollo Micro Systems, Gensol Engineering, Sigachi Industries, Tourism Finance Corporation of India and Hardwyn India- were down 5 per cent each for the day.

The Nifty began on a positive note but struggled to withstand the selling pressure at higher levels, ultimately closing at the day's lowest point, said Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities.

Although the overall sentiment remains positive, the index must surpass the 22,400 mark to trigger a new rally. A decisive breakthrough above 22,400 could propel the index towards 22600. On the downside, support is situated at 22,250-22,200," he said.

BSE and the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE), were open on Saturday for special two-sessions, conducted to test the disaster preparedness of the stock market in case of an emergency.  Trading took place in the cash market and F&O segment, but circuit filters of all stocks were revised to 5 per cent, other than those having a 2 per cent circuit limit.