Sensex, Nifty clock new highs; Adani Group stocks rise up to 20%; sugar stocks fall

Domestic equity markets on Wednesday continued their winning run and settled with decent gains. However, mid-session volatility dragged the indices lower but buying interest in the heavyweights like IT, FCMG and Reliance pushed the indices higher. Headline indices scaled fresh highs during the session. For the day, BSE's Sensex advanced 357.59 points, or 0.52 per cent, to end at 69,653.73. NSE's Nifty50 added 82.60 points, or 0.40 per cent, to end the day at 20,937.70. Broader markets underperformed the headline indices as BSE midcap and smallcap indices settled marginally up. Fear gauge rose more than 2 per cent to 13.74-mark. Markets extended gains for the seventh session in a row and rose nearly half a percent.  After the initial uptick, Nifty hovered in a range till the end and finally settled around the upper band of the same at 20,937.65 level.  A mixed trend continued on the sectoral front and the broader indices traded largely in sync, said Ajit Mishra, SVP - Technical Research at Religare Broking. "Noticeable traction in the key sectors is fuelling momentum in the index, however we can’t ignore the possibility of some consolidation now.  Traders should maintain their focus on stock selection as we are seeing a catch-up move in the sectors and stocks that were on the sidelines in recent months. Also, avoid contrarian bets in anticipation of a major decline" he said. On a sectoral front, the Nifty media and IT indices rose about 2 per cent each, while followed by oil & gas index. The Nifty FMCG index also rose more than a per cent. Among the laggards, the Nifty healthcare index was the leaders, while the Nifty pharma, auto, financial services, realty and private bank indices also disappointed. Adani Group's cash counters continued to attract investors. Adani Total Gas hit upper circuit of 20 per cent, while Adani Green Energy shares surged over 16 per cent. Adani Energy Solutions rose more than 7 per cent, while Adani Wilmar and Adani Power rose over 4 per cent each. Adani Ports also managed to end the day in green. In the Nifty50 pack, Wipro surged about 4 per cent, while LTIMindTree and ITC advanced 3 per cent each. Larsen & Toubro, Tata Consultancy Services and Tata Motors rose 2 per cent each. Among the laggards, Adani Enterprises, Eicher Motors and Cipla dropped more than 2 per cent each. Post-state elections, market optimism thrives, confirming policy continuity and meeting investor expectations. A robust FII reversal is fuelled by receding inflation and dropping yields. The allure of Indian market gains post-China credit rating downgrade and decline in oil prices was followed by ease in geopolitical tensions, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services. "A strong rebound in IT, driven by reduced US recession risks and in anticipation of robust summer demand, fuels the momentum in the power sector. Despite a promising outlook, short-term profit booking may occur. Lingering El Nino risks, a drop in reservoir levels, and reduced sowing may hold RBI to profoundly upgrade H2FY24 growth and reduce future inflation estimates, he said. A total of 3,895 shares were traded on BSE on Wednesday, of which 1,927 settled with cuts. 1,821 stocks ended the session with gains while 147 shares remained unchanged. During the day, 336 shares hit their upper circuit, whereas merely 217 shares tested the lower circuit levels for the day. In the broader markets, BCL Industries surged more than 14 per cent, while Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilizers jumped over 13 per cent. Kanoria Chemicals & Industries rose 13 per cent, whereas Balaji Amines and Veranda Learning Solutions rose 11 per cent each for the day. On the other hand, Uttam Sugar Mills crashed 11 per cent, while Avadh Sugar & Energy dropped to its lower circuit limit of 10 per cent. Balrampur Chini Mills and  JTL Industries were down 7 per cent each, while Bajaj Hindusthan Sugar, Triveni Engineering and Industries and CanFin Homes tumbled 6 per cent, each.

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