Sensex, Nifty settle flat; PFS jumps 20%; Adani stocks among top laggards

Domestic equity markets witnessed another volatile trading session on Wednesday and finally settled flat, with marginal gains. Headline indices remained rangebound, saw some selling but finally recovered to end almost unchanged ahead of US Fed's monetary policy. Heavyweight sectors lead the selling, while defensives saved the day.

For the day, BSE's Sensex added 33.57 points, or 0.05 per cent, to settle at 69,584.60. NSE's Nifty50 gained 19.95 points, or 0.10 per cent, to end the day at 20,926.35. Broader markets outperform the headline indices as BSE midcap and smallcap indices jumped about a per cent each. Fear gauge dropped more than 5 per cent to 12.07-mark.

Markets ended marginally higher amid volatility, in continuation to the prevailing consolidation phase. Weakness in the IT majors was weighing on the sentiment in the first half however recovery in heavyweights from other sectors trimmed the losses as the day progressed. The broader indices outperformed amid choppiness and gained nearly a percent each, said Ajit Mishra, SVP - Technical Research at Religare Broking.

"Indications are in favor of further consolidation in the index but the bias would remain on the positive side. Participants should maintain their focus on stock selection and overnight risk management.  We feel the performance of the US markets would play a critical role in setting the next leg of the directional move so keep a close eye on them for cues," he said.

On a sectoral front, the Nifty realty indices gained about 2 per cent, while the Nifty pharma, healthcare and auto indices rose more than a per cent each. Among the laggards, the Nifty IT index dropped more than a per cent each, while oil & gas, financial services and private bank indices settled in red.

In the Nifty50 index, NTPC surged about 4 per cent each, while Adani Ports and Hero MotoCorp advanced about 3 per cent each. Power Grid, Eicher Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra and Larsen & Toubro rose 2 per cent each. On the contrary, Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys shed about 2 per cent each. HDFC Life, Axis Bank, ONGC, Bajaj Finserv and UltraTech Cement shed a per cent each.

India's domestic industrial production and manufacturing PMI exceeded expectations, a clear reflection of the continuation of economic growth in H2FY24. However, a simultaneous challenge emerges as retail inflation stands at 5.5 per cent, still much above the RBI's 4 per cent target, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

"This inflationary pressure, driven by high food inflation and the looming spectre of El Niño, is poised to persist. The market's focus now shifts to the upcoming FOMC meeting. And the recent global upside is getting far stretched in anticipation of a rapid fall in US Fed rate in CY2024," he said.

A total of 3,890 shares were traded on BSE on Wednesday, of which 2,184 settled with gains. 1,589 stocks ended the session with gains while 117 shares remained unchanged. During the day, 389 shares hit their upper circuit, whereas merely 175 shares tested the lower circuit levels for the day.

In the broader markets, PTC India Financial Services surged about 20 per cent, while Tourism Finance Corporation of India jumped 19 per cent. Tanla Platforms rose 18 per cent, while PTC India gained over 16 per cent. Gallantt Ispat advanced 15 per cent and PC Jewellers and Schneider Electric Infra ended 12 per cent higher each.

On the contrary, Axita Cotton tumbled 18 per cent for the day, while Adani Total Gas dropped 10 per cent for the day. Adani Energy Solutions, 63 Moons Technologies, Monarch Networth Capital and Indiabulls Real Estate ended 5 per cent lower each for the day.

Also read: Bank of Baroda stock hits record high ahead of meeting to consider fund-raising 

Also read: Top 10 stocks to watch on December 13, 2023: Reliance Industries, Indian Bank, UltraTech Cement, Infibeam Avenues, Rashtriya Chemicals and more