The Indian stock market concluded Wednesday’s trading session on a positive note, with both the BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty achieving record closing highs.
The BSE Sensex advanced by 255.83 points or 0.30 per cent to finish at 85,169.87, while the Nifty 50 climbed 63.75 points or 0.25 per cent to settle at 26,004.15.
On the National Stock Exchange (NSE), Power Grid Corporation emerged as the top gainer, surging 4.04 per cent.
It was followed by Axis Bank, which rose 2.39 per cent, NTPC gaining 2.02 per cent, Bajaj Finserv up 1.59 per cent, and Grasim Industries increasing by 1.55 per cent. Conversely, LTIMindtree led the losers, dropping 3.69 per cent, followed by Tech Mahindra (-2.27 per cent), Tata Consumer Products (-1.87 per cent), Tata Motors (-1.36 per cent), and Titan (-1.13 per cent).
Among the Sensex stocks, Power Grid Corporation was again the top performer, climbing 3.91 per cent to close at ₹363.80. Axis Bank followed with a 2.18 per cent gain, closing at ₹1,266.75. NTPC rose 1.94 per cent to ₹436.30, while Bajaj Finserv and Bajaj Finance rounded out the top five gainers, increasing by 1.10 per cent and 0.91 per cent respectively.
On the losing side, Tech Mahindra dropped 2.21 per cent to ₹1,601.80. Tata Motors declined 1.39 per cent to ₹963.50, Titan fell 0.93 per cent to ₹3,748.00, Kotak Mahindra Bank slipped 0.92 per cent to ₹1,897.05, and SBI shed 0.68 per cent to ₹792.95.
The broader market displayed a negative bias, with 2,243 stocks declining compared to 1,711 advances on the BSE. A total of 4,065 stocks were traded, with 111 remaining unchanged. The session witnessed 267 stocks hitting 52-week highs, while 38 touched 52-week lows. Additionally, 333 stocks reached the upper circuit limit, and 231 hit the lower circuit.
Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research at Kotak Securities, provided insight into the day’s market movements: “Today, the benchmark indices witnessed buying interest at lower levels... Technically, after an intraday correction, the market took support near 25875/84750 and bounced back sharply... Higher bottom formation on intraday charts and uptrend continuation texture on daily charts indicate further upside from the current levels.”
The Nifty Bank index closed at 54,101.65, up 133.05 points or 0.25 per cent, while the Nifty Financial Services index gained 104.10 points or 0.42 per cent to end at 24,987.75. However, the Nifty Next 50 and Nifty Midcap Select indices experienced declines of 0.37 per cent and 0.19 per cent respectively, highlighting the mixed performance across different market segments.
On September 24, 2024, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers, with a ₹2,784.14 crore outflow. Meanwhile, Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) recorded a net inflow of ₹3,868.31 crore. Proprietary traders were net buyers at ₹518.80 crore, while clients and NRIs registered net sales of ₹501.23 crore and ₹2.40 crore, respectively.
Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd said, “However, broader market weakness due to profit-taking could be a signal that the current rally may face intermittent hurdles due to global uncertainty and rising Middle East conflict. The short-term technical outlook continues to remain in favor of bulls on backdrop higher/high low patterns on all time frames, with Nifty’s immediate goal post now seen at 26250 while the psychological support is at 25750 mark.”
Dr. Praveen Dwarakanath, Vice President of Hedged.in, offered a technical perspective on the market’s performance: “Nifty has closed above its all-time high and the psychological level of 26000... However, the Options writer’s data for tomorrow’s expiry shows increased calls and put writing at 26000 levels, indicating a sideways move tomorrow. For tomorrow’s expiry, the intraday support is at 25930 levels while the 26000 levels can act as an immediate resistance.”
In the commodities market, gold prices reached unprecedented levels, with COMEX gold hitting a record $2,694.89 per ounce. Kaynat Chainwala, AVP-Commodity Research at Kotak Securities, explained the factors behind this surge: “COMEX gold surged... as a significant drop in US consumer confidence heightened expectations for aggressive interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. The US Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index fell sharply in September to 98.7, down from 105.6 in August, its largest decline in three years.”
Oil prices also experienced significant movement, with WTI crude oil prices surging above $72 per barrel. Chainwala elaborated on the reasons: “WTI crude oil prices surged... due to concerns about potential supply disruptions in the US from hurricane threats, escalating conflict in the Middle East, and an improving demand outlook driven by fresh stimulus in China. Chinese Governor Pan Gongsheng announced sweeping stimulus measures aimed at achieving the country’s annual growth target of around 5 per cent.”
Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research at HDFC Securities, observed the market’s resilience: “Nifty 50 recovered from day’s low in the last leg of the trade to end Sept 25 at record close for the fourth consecutive session... Cash market volumes on the NSE were 12.6 per cent lower compared to the previous session. Broad market indices ended in the negative even as the advance decline ratio fell to 0.68:1.”
As the market continues to demonstrate strength, investors and analysts maintain a cautiously optimistic outlook. Ajit Mishra, SVP of Research at Religare Broking Ltd, advised: “We maintain our bullish outlook amid ongoing consolidation and recommend focusing on stock selection aligned with sectoral trends... Besides rate-sensitive sectors, we observe strong momentum in metal and power stocks, while the current correction in IT presents a buying opportunity.”
Tejas Shah, Technical Research analyst at JM Financial & BlinkX, provided additional insights: “The Nifty and Bank Nifty both hit a new lifetime high in today’s trading session. The broader markets underperformed as compared to the mainline indices. India VIX witnessed a sharp fall to the level of 12.41 (Down by 7.37 per cent)... We are not expecting any run away rally from the current levels even though Nifty closed above the psychological resistance of 26,000 Mark. However, another 200 to 250 points minor rally cannot be ruled out from the current levels.”
As the market heads into tomorrow’s expiry, investors will be closely watching for any potential shifts in sentiment or sector rotation that could impact the ongoing rally in Indian equities.