Sensex gains 274 points, Nifty settles a tad below 19,450; BDL, Elecon & CarTrade rise 14%

Domestic equity markets continued to move higher on Tuesday amid positive domestic and global cues. However, profit booking at higher levels trimmed some gains. Traders will be keenly awaiting Q1 earnings of the IT majors, scheduled for tomorrow, for cues.

For the day, the 30-share pack BSE Sensex gained 273.67 points, or 0.42 per cent, to end at 65,617.84, while NSE's Nifty50 gained 92.30 points, or 0.48 per cent, to close at 19,448.20. Broader markets outperformed the headline peers as BSE midcap and smallcap indices added about a per cent each. Fear gauge India VIX dropped about 4 per cent to barely hold above 11-levels.

Markets edged higher in a volatile session, in continuation to the prevailing consolidation tone. The first half was upbeat however Nifty failed to surpass the immediate hurdle at the record high and witnessed profit taking in the latter half.  Most sectors contributed to the move, said Ajit Mishra, SVP - Technical Research, Religare Broking.

"Banking pack may further delay the resumption of the trend; the tone is likely to remain positive. Besides, we are closely eyeing the US markets for cues and their sustained recovery could trigger the next leg of up move. Meanwhile, we reiterate our view to focus on stock selection and utilizing this phase to gradually accumulate them on dips," he said.

On a sectoral front, the Nifty auto, consumer durables, FMCG, pharma, and healthcare indices gained more than a per cent, each. Among the losers, the Nifty financial services and metal indices were the biggest laggards. Nifty PSU Bank and realty indices also settled in red for the day.

Among the gainers, Eicher Motors saw some buying at the lower levels and rose 3 per cent for the day, like Sun Pharmaceuticals which posted similar gains. Tata Consumer Products, Apollo Hospital Enterprises, Maruti Suzuki India, Tata Motors, ITC and Larsen & Toubro added over 2 per cent each.

Among the losers, UPL plunged over 2 per cent, leading among the laggards on the blue-chip index. Bajaj Finance and Axis Bank were the other two stocks which shed more than a per cent each. JSW Steel, HCL Technologies, Hindalco Industries, Hero MotoCorp and State Bank of India were the other key laggards.

The market now awaits the Q1 results, IT sector which kicks off tomorrow, where expectations are muted with a focus on the sustenance of margin and improvement in long-term guidance, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

"The positivity also stems from China's anticipated stimulus to withstand economic growth and hope on the moderation in US inflation data. The overall valuation for India is marginally above the long-term average, which is fair given strong earnings expectations on FY24," he said.

A total of 3,602 shares were traded on BSE on Tuesday, of which 1,948 settled with gains. 1,532 stocks ended the session with cuts while 122 shares remained unchanged. A total of 149 shares hit their upper circuit, whereas 127 shares tested the lower circuit levels for the day.

In the broader markets, Elecon Engineering Company rose more than 14 per cent after strong Q1 results, while CarTrade Tech advanced over 14 per cent over acquisition plans. Defence stocks including Bharat Dynamics and Zen Technologies gained more than 13 per cent each. Cochin Shipyard ended 12 per cent each.

On the contrary, Zee Media Corporation dropped 7 per cent for the day, while Swan Energy and Vadilal Industries shed 6 per cent each. Inox Wind, Navin Fluorine International and Tega Industries declined 4 per cent each for the day.

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