Sensex reclaims 66k; Nifty rises 177 points; GMDC rallies 20%; Coal India up 5%

Domestic equity markets settled sharply higher on Tuesday, tracking the global tune. Recouping from the Israel-Hamas crisis, the drop in the crude oil prices and dovish commentary from the US Fed supported the sentiments at Dalal Street. However, traders will be awaiting the US Fed's results kicking off tomorrow.

For the day, the 30-share pack BSE Sensex gained 566.97 points, or 0.87 per cent, to end the session at 66,079.36, while NSE's Nifty50 surged 177.50 points, or 0.91 per cent, to end the day at 19,689.85. Broader markets outperformed the headline peers as BSE midcap and smallcap indices rallied more than a per cent each. Fear gauge India VIX eased over a per cent to 11.24-mark.
 
After the gap-up start, Nifty inched gradually higher as the session progressed and finally settled around the day’s high at 19689.85 levels. The majority of sectors participated in the move wherein realty, metal and financials were among the top gainers. A rebound in the broader indices further added to the positivity, said Ajit Mishra, SVP - Technical Research, Religare Broking.

"Nifty has finally crossed the immediate hurdle of short-term moving average (20 EMA) and we expect Nifty to test 19,800. However, the sustainability of the move would depend upon the performance of the heavyweights," he added. "Meanwhile, mixed global cues could keep the volatility high. Amid all, traders should avoid aggressive trades and prefer a hedged approach."

Barring the Nifty healthcare index, all other sectoral indices posted big gains. The Nifty realty index rallied more than 4 per cent, while the Nifty PSU bank and metal indices rallied over 2 per cent each. The Nifty auto, financial services, private bank and media indices gained over a per cent each.

Indian markets mirrored the sharp rebound in world equities as short covering propelled the benchmark indices. Although the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas has already seen many casualties, investors feel that it may not have a cascading effect on the world economy and the focus would again shift to global macro-economic concerns, said Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Research (Retail), Kotak Securities.

In the Nifty50 pack, only 10 per cent stocks, or five shares settled in red. IndusInd Bank and Cipla shed over half a per cent each. Tata Consultancy Services, Dr Reddy's Laboratories and Titan Company were also among the laggards in the blue-chip index.

Among the gainers, Coal India rallied more than 5 per cent, while Adani Ports rallied about 4 per cent for the day. Bharti Airtel ended 3 per cent higher, while Hindalco, Tata Motors and Adani Enterprises rose 2 per cent each. UPL, JSW Steel and SBI Life Insurance Company were the other gains in the pack.

The Indian market completely recovered yesterday’s losses which was mainly due to the Hamas-Israel conflict. Moderation in crude prices and positive global cues on account of dovish remarks from Fed officials, which restrained US bond yields, aided the rebound, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

A total of 3,801 shares were traded on BSE on Friday, of which 2,312 settled with gains. 1,334 stocks ended the session with cuts while 15 shares remained unchanged. During the day, 387 shares hit their upper circuit, whereas 157 shares tested the lower circuit levels for the day.

In the broader markets, Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation (GMDC) hit an upper circuit of 20 per cent, while Avantel rallied more than 17 per cent. Ajmera Realty soared over 13 per cent, while Prakash Industries was up 11 per cent each. Dolat Algotech, Omaxe and Purvankara surged 10 per cent each.

On the downside, GM Breweries crashed about 9 per cent, while Dhampur Bio Organics tumbled 8 per cent. Sanghi Industries and Suzlon Energy settled 5 per cent lower each. Triveni Turbine, Axiscades Technologies and Lancer Container Lines dropped 4 per cent for the day.

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