Sensex, Nifty settle red; DRL, Paytm, L&T crack up to 7%; AEL, Asian Paints rise up to 5%

Domestic equity markets ended Thursday's session in red after choppy trading as the headline peers settled lower. Weak sentiments from the global cues weighed on the sentiments. Quarterly earnings of the select blue-chips weighed on the sentiments during the entire session. For the day, the 30-share pack BSE Sensex shed 35.68 points, or 0.06 per cent, to settle at 61,904.52, while NSE Nifty50 fell 18.10 points, or 0.1 per cent, to close at 18,297. However, Broader markets outperformed the headline peers and settled in green as BSE midcap and Smallcap added about half a per cent each. Fear gauge India VIX rose more than a per cent to 13.22 level. Weak Asian cues dampened the sentiment as local markets remained subdued throughout the trading session before finally edging marginally lower amid selling in metal and capital goods stocks. Investors are probably in a wait-and-watch mode after a sharp spike in recent sessions, said Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research (Retail), Kotak Securities. "Technically, the short term uptrend formation is still positive and the index is consistently forming a higher bottom formation which is also supportive for the bulls. We are of the view that as long as the index is trading above 18200, the uptrend formation Is likely to continue. Above which, the index could move up till 18,400-18,475. On the flip side, below 18,200, the market could slip till 18,125-18,100," he said. On a sectoral front, Nifty Pharma and Healthcare indices emerged as the top laggards as both the indices shed over a per cent. The Nifty metal index was the only other loser. Among the gainers, Nifty Consumer Durable Index jumped about a per cent, followed by Nifty Realty, FMCG and Auto indices. In the Nifty 50 pack, Dr Reddy's Laboratories led the losers as the drug maker tanked 7 per cent after muted Q4 results, while Larsen & Toubro shed 5 per cent on similar grounds. Divis Labs and Hindalco dropped over 3 per cent each, followed by a 2 per cent fall in JSW Steel. Among the gainers, Adani Enterprises surged over 5 per cent as the company mulls fund-raising, while Asian Paints jumped over 3 per cent on the back of strong quarterly earnings. Hindustan Unilever gained 3 per cent, while Adani Ports added 2 per cent for the day. The current market rally has been largely influenced by consistent FII inflows, driven by lower treasury yields and the weakness of the US Dollar, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services. "However, the gains in the domestic market were tempered by weak earnings reported by a few heavyweight companies. On the global front, markets remained positive as US inflation eased below 5 per cent, providing reassurance to investors that the Fed's rate hike measures have been effective in managing inflation levels," he said. A total of 3,632 shares were traded on BSE on Thursday, of which 2,052 settled with gains. 1,427 stocks ended the session lower while 153 shares remained unchanged. A total of 188 shares hit their upper circuit, whereas 115 tested the lower circuit levels for the day. In the broader markets, DCW tanked 7 per cent after the company reported a disappointing performance in the March 2023 quarter. Larsen & Toubro dropped more than 5 per cent, followed by One 97 Communications (Paytm) shed 4 per cent amid bulk deal buzz by Softbank. On the other hand, Kirloskar Brother and Neuland Laboratories hit an upper circuit of 20 per cent each after both the companies reported a strong Q4 performance. Sastasundar Ventures jumped about 14 per cent amid heavy volumes, Sanofi Indian gained 9 per cent. Ceat and Ratnamani Metals & Tubes added 6 per cent each.

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