Stock Market: Sensex jumps 347 pts, Nifty above 25,250; Bajaj Finance leads gainers

Domestic equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, opened higher on Wednesday, lifted by improved investor sentiment and positive global cues. Strong gains across Asian markets and renewed optimism over a potential U.S. Federal Reserve rate cut boosted market mood.

At 9:21 am, the BSE Sensex gained 301.90 points, or 0.37 per cent, at 82,331.88 after rising nearly 347 points in early trade. The NSE Nifty jumped 104.85 points, or 0.42 per cent, to 25,250.35, after hitting a day’s high of 25,253.85.

Among Sensex stocks, Bajaj Finance led the gainers, rising 1.28 per cent to Rs 1031.60. Bajaj Finserv shares gained 1.24 per cent, while NTPC, Power Grid and BEL rose 1.08 per cent, 0.90 per cent and 0.90 per cent, respectively.

Wall Street ended on a mixed note overnight, with two of the three major US indices closing in the red. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.44 per cent to 46,270.46, while the S&P 500 slipped 0.16 per cent to 6,644.31, and the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.76 per cent to 22,521.70.

Asian markets traded mostly higher on Wednesday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.31 per cent to 47,463.31, while South Korea’s KOSPI advanced 1.89 per cent to 3,629. In contrast, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slipped 1.21 per cent to 25,748.86.

On Tuesday, the Sensex slipped 297.07 points, or 0.36 per cent, to close at 82,029.98, while the Nifty50 declined 81.85 points, or 0.32 per cent, to settle at 25,145.50.

VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, said the market’s drift amid the absence of positive triggers and renewed FII selling poses short-term challenges for investors.

“It is important to appreciate the fact that the biggest challenge to the market is the poor earnings growth, and this is the fundamental factor behind FII selling. The Q2 results are unlikely to change the sentiments since the postponement of buying following the GST cuts, impacted corporate sales in September. But, post September the story is different,” Vijayakumar said.

“Automobiles and white goods are witnessing brisk sales and in the low-interest regime, with more rate cuts to come, this demand will sustain. These positives will be reflected not in the ongoing Q2 results season but in the Q3 results. The market will soon start discounting that, and that is when a healthy market rally will begin and sustain,” Vijayakumar added.