Sensex, Nifty end flat; PSU lenders rally, YES Bank surges 17%

Domestic equity market ended on a flat note on Wednesday after a choppy trading session. Traders on Dalal Street await RBI's monetary policy, where the central bank is likely to maintain a status quo. Profit booking in the IT stocks weighed on the markets, while PSU counters were outperformers. The 30-share pack BSE Sensex shed 34.09 points, or only 0.05 per cent, to end at 72,152. NSE's Nifty50 added merely 1.1 points, or 0.01 per cent, to end the session at 21,930.50. In the broader markets, BSE midcap index jumped 1.31 per cent, while the smallcap index advanced 0.38 per cent. Fear gauge India VIX dropped up about 1.77 per cent to 15.51-mark.   Markets continued with the range bound bias and ended almost unchanged. After the gap-up start, Nifty oscillated in a narrow band. A mixed trend on the sectoral front kept the traders occupied wherein realty and energy pack were among the top performers while IT and auto took a breather, said Ajit Mishra, SVP - Technical Research, Religare Broking. "We maintain our positive stance amid consolidation and suggest continuing with a 'buy on dips' approach until Nifty holds 21,600. However, participation from the banking and financial majors would be critical for trend resumption. Apart from the domestic factors, we suggest keeping a close eye on global markets for cues," he said. On a sectoral front, only Nifty IT and private bank indices settled in red, with the former one losing 1.25 per cent. Among the gainers, the Nifty PSU Bank index jumped 2.86 per cent, while the Nifty realty index ended 1.84 per cent. The Nifty media index gained more than a per cent for the day. In the Nifty50 pack, State Bank of India jumped about 4.2 per cent, while Grasim Industries, HDFC Life Insurance Company, JSW Steel and Axis Bank gained more than 2 per cent each. On the downside, Tech Mahindra and Power Grid Corp shed 2.67 per cent and 2.5 per cent, respectively. Infosys ended 2 per cent down for the day. The domestic market exhibited cautious range-bound movement, despite robust PMI data and favourable global cues ahead of RBI policy meet. While no change in stance is anticipated, the RBI's commentary on any hints regarding potential rate cuts and improvements in liquidity will be closely monitored, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services. A total of 3,959 shares were traded on BSE on Wednesday, of which 2,262 settled with gains. 1,609 stocks ended the session with cuts while 88 shares remained unchanged. During the day, 478 shares hit their upper circuit, whereas 240 shares tested the lower circuit levels for the day. In the Broader markets, Trent surged 20 per cent after strong Q3 results, while EIH also posted similar gains. Sanghvi Movers was up 10 per cent, while Indian Overseas Bank gained more than 18 per cent. YES Bank jumped 17 per cent to hit new 52-week highs, while UCO Bank added 16 per cent for the day. Among the laggards, NLC India tanked about 10 per cent for the day, while Redington India declined 7 per cent. AIA Engineering, Endurance Technologies and Gujarat State Fertilizers and Chemicals declined 6 per cent each. Lemon Tree Hotels and Navin Fluorine International ended 5 per cent down each.

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