Stock market today: Sensex up 366 pts, Nifty above 24,850; Infosys, TechM lead gainers

Domestic equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty extended gains for the second consecutive session on Tuesday, as growing expectations of a US rate cut this month boosted investor sentiment.

At 9:16 am, the BSE Sensex was up 331.21 points, or 0.41 per cent, at 81,118.51, after rising as much as 366 points in early trade. The NSE Nifty50 climbed 86.80 points, or 0.35 per cent, to 24,859.95, having hit a day’s high of 24,874.50.

Among Sensex stocks, Infosys led gainers, rising 3.02 per cent to Rs 1475.10.  Tech Mahindra shares climbed 1.43 per cent. Other gainers included HCL Tech (up 1.07 per cent), L&T (up 1 per cent) and HDFC Bank (up 0.75 per cent).

In overnight trade, the S&P 500 rose 0.21 per cent to close at 6,495.15, while the Nasdaq gained 0.45 per cent to 21,798.70. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.25 per cent to settle at 45,514.95. 

Earlier on Tuesday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 rising 0.20 per cent to 43,732.80 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gaining 1.05 per cent to 25,904.33.

On Monday, the Sensex climbed 76.54 points, or 0.09 per cent, to close at 80,787.30, while the Nifty50 advanced 32.15 points, or 0.13 per cent, to end at 24,773.15.

Amruta Shinde, Technical & Derivative Analyst at Choice Equity Broking Private Limited said the Indian benchmark indices are expected to open on a positive note today, with the GIFT Nifty indicating an uptick of nearly 62 points in the Nifty 50. 

Shinde said the market sentiment remains cautiously optimistic; however, persistent volatility and mixed global cues continue to weigh on investor confidence. “On Monday, the Nifty faced resistance near the 24,900 level after Friday’s recovery and ended with a modest gain of 32 points. The index formed a small red candle with a long upper shadow on the daily chart, highlighting consolidation and volatility. While buying interest is visible at lower levels, the 24,900–25,000 zone remains a stiff hurdle. Support is placed at 24,620, and as long as Nifty trades below 25,000, some consolidation or mild weakness may persist,” Shinde said.

VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited, said the markets are slowly regaining momentum on expectations of an earnings boost from GST reforms. 

“Clearly, autos are the major beneficiaries of the GST cut, and rightly, the market has responded positively. News of huge demand for automobiles post-September 22 will keep the auto stocks resilient despite the recent run up,” Vijayakumar said.

Vijayakumar said that Nasdaq setting yet another record is positive for US markets. “However, there are clear signs of rising inflation and unemployment in the US. Therefore, the Fed is likely to pause after a 25 bp rate cut on September 17th. Therefore, Fed commentary will be significant,” he said. 

“The underperformance of the broader market is a distinct trend now. While the Nifty is down 0.65 per cent in the last one year, Nifty Midcap 150 and Nifty Smallcap 100 are down by 1.9 per cent and 8.08 per cent respectively. The high valuations in the Smallcap segment is getting corrected. The fair valuations in the largecap segment can keep it resilient. Midcap valuations, though high, are getting support from superior earnings growth," Vijayakumar said.