Benchmark indices opened higher on Wednesday. BSE Sensex traded at 77,004.63, higher by 548.04 pts or 0.72 per cent as of 10.51 am, and Nifty 50 rose by 162.75 pts or 0.7 per cent at 23,427.60, hitting a fresh high.
In early hours on Wednesday, Sensex rose by 279.18 pts or 0.37 per cent to trade at 76,735.77 , and Nifty 50 was up by 93.75 pts or 0.4 per cent at 23,358.60.
Commenting on Nifty outlook, Anand James, Chief Market Strategist, Geojit Financial Services, said, “We will, however, continue to stick with the view that this may not evolve into a 22600 plunge, with 23050-22950 region appearing as a near term support. While we might have to wait before we get back on to the 23530-24130 trajectory, expect an extended period of consolidation with 23300 appearing as a key pivot for the day.”
All sectoral indices except Nifty FMCG traded in green. Nifty FMCG slipped 0.23 per cent to trade at 57,659.70. Nifty Oil & Gas and Nifty media were up over 1 per cent. Nifty bank was up by 0.11 per cent at 49,762.50.
Nifty auto rose 0.53 per cent at 25,364.20.
India VIX declined by 1.74 per cent at 14.51.
Dr. V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services, said, “There is a recent trend of investors/ speculators chasing momentum stocks with low floating stock and excessive valuations. This is a risky trade that investors should avoid. The focus of investors should be on fairly valued quality growth stocks. Here, financials come on top. This segment has the potential to give decent returns in the medium to long term. IT stocks also have valuation comfort.
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Commenting on India VIX, Vijayakumar stated, “The 32% decline in India VIX during the last 5 days indicates that the days of heightened volatility are over and the market has entered a consolidation phase. From now on the focus will be on fundamentals and news flows.”
Stocks to watch
BPCL (2.45%), Coal India (1.87%), LTIMindtree (1.50%), HCL Tech (1.48%), Hindalco (1.46%) were the top gainers of the Nifty 50 pack, while Asian Paints (-0.70%), Titan (-0.56%), Hindustan Unilever (-0.52%), Grasim Industries (-0.43%), and IndusInd (-0.31%) were the major laggards.
Dredging Corporation stock is locked in the upper circuit at ₹1,129.20 on the NSE, higher by 10 per cent following the receipt of work order worth ₹2,016 crore.