Sensex, Nifty settle flat; Shakti Pumps, Uflex, Gokaldas Exports surge up to 20%

Domestic benchmark indices took a U-turn in the later end of the session and erased their entire gains to settle flat on Wednesday. Headline indices posted miniscule gains as disappointing economic data from Europe took away entire enthusiasm boosted by positive signals from the US economy.

For the day, the 30-share pack BSE Sensex added 11.43 points, or 0.02 per cent, to settle at 65,087.25, while NSE's Nifty rose 4.80 points, or 0.02 per cent, to close at 19,347.45. Broader markets outperformed the headline peers as the BSE midcap and smallcap indices gained up to a per cent each. Fear gauge India VIX dropped more than 3 per cent to 11.80-level.

Markets were extremely choppy towards the closing hours and erased most of their early gains to end marginally higher, as investors resorted to profit-taking in select stocks ahead of tomorrow's monthly F&O expiry, said Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Research (Retail), Kotak Securities.

"Traders are unsure how things will pan out in the near term given the mounting challenges like further rate hikes, higher inflation levels and slackening demand growth in China. So a mix of subdued trend to extreme volatility could be the theme for some more time," he added.

On a sectoral front, the Nifty realty index rose more than a per cent, while the Nifty metal, IT and auto indices added about a per cent each for the day. Among the laggards, the Nifty financial services and banking indices dragged the markets lower. The Nifty oil & gas index also settled in red.

The markets failed to sustain at higher levels. After a strong opening, weakness in the banking sector resulted in a reversal of trade and Nifty50 erased all its gains. The realty and metal segments and select auto stocks continue to witness buying interest while apart from banking and energy were underperformers, said Aditya Gaggar, Director at Progressive Shares.

In the Nifty 50 index, Jio Financial Services hit upper circuit of 5 per cent for the second straight session. Tata Steel and Maruti Suzuki gained about 2 per cent each. Eicher Motors, Mahindra & Mahidnra, Tata Consumer Products, Infosys and HCL Technologies rose more than a per cent each.

Among the losers, Power Grid, Bharat Petroleum, Hero MotoCorp, Dr Reddy's Laboratories and State Bank of India dropped more than a per cent each. ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Adani Ports and HDFC Bank were among the other laggards for the day.

Positive sentiment initially propelled domestic equities, buoyed by softer US labour market data that caused a retreat in US bond yields, alleviating concerns about rate hikes. This positive outlook was reinforced by Chinese banks' move to reduce existing mortgage rates, favourably impacting Indian metal stocks, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

"However, gains were tempered as the day progressed, primarily due to weakness in global markets attributed to lacklustre economic data from Europe. Banking stocks bore the brunt of this downturn, while mid- and small-cap segments displayed resilience amid the market dynamics," he said.

A total of 3,790 shares were traded on BSE on Wednesday, of which 2,305 settled with gains. 1,334 stocks ended the session with cuts while 151 shares remained unchanged. A total of 339 shares hit their upper circuit, whereas 182 shares tested the lower circuit levels for the day.

In the broader markets, Shakti Pumps, Take Solutions and Uflex hit upper circuit of 20 per cent each. Bajaj Healthcare and Gokaldas Exports gained 19 per cent each. Sharda Motor Industries and Cosmo First gained 14 per cent each, while Paisalo Digital jumped 11 per cent for the day.

Among the losers, Andhra Petrochemicals and HBL Power System dropped 6 per cent each, while HPL Electric Power, Genus Power and Jupiter Wagons hit lower circuits of 5 per cent each. Kuantum Papers, Insecticides India, Patel Engineering and Electronics Mart India shed 4 per cent each for the day.

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