Sensex, Nifty snap 3-day losing streak; KIOCL rises 20%, Va Tech Wabag jumps 13%

Domestic benchmark indices snapped the three-day losing streak and settled higher on Tuesday. However, the gains were during the second half of bidding as traders looked at rising concerns in the Middle-East. Traders will be looking at Q2 earnings and Powell's speech due later this week for cues over the US Fed's monetary tightening.

For the day, the 30-share pack BSE Sensex jumped 261.16 points, or 0.39 per cent, to end the session at 66,428.09. NSE's Nifty50 dropped 79.75 points, or 0.40 per cent, to end the day at 19,811.50. Broader markets performed in-line with the headline peers as BSE midcap and smallcap indices posted decent gains. Fear gauge India VIX dropped more than 3 per cent to 10.70-mark.

Markets snapped a 3-day losing streak on the back of short-covering as positive Asian cues aided recovery. Investors are jittery about the ongoing geopolitical tension in the Middle-East and are cautiously making selective bets in an uncertain situation, said Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Research (Retail), Kotak Securities.

"The Indian market is still expensive and investors, especially foreign, are using global uncertainty to reduce their exposure in local shares. Technically,  the Nifty is trading above 19,750 and above the same, the index could rally till 19,900-19,935. On the flip side, below 19,750, the uptrend would be vulnerable and could slip till 19,700-19,675," he said.

Among the sectors, only the Nifty consumer durable index settled in red. The Nifty oil and gas and financial services were among the top gainers for the day while the Nifty FMCG and PSU bank indices added about half a per cent each. The Nifty metal, pharma and private bank indices were other key gainers for the day.

In the Nifty50 pack, Bharat Petroleum and Power Grid gained more than 2 per cent each, while Coal India, SBI Life Insurance and HDFC Life Insurance were the other key gainers on the index. Among the losers, Tata Motors dropped about a per cent, while Larsen & Toubro, UPL and IndusInd Bank shed about a per cent each.

The market's gap-up opening today, offsetting the losses of the past three days, indicates an optimism over the ongoing Q2 earnings despite concerns about the Middle East and subdued start by the IT sector. However, some profit-taking was evident as the day concluded, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

"FIIs continue to withdraw funds due to the rise in US bond yields. An insight about the future direction of interest rates is expected from the Fed chair's upcoming speech on October 19th. While the market will also closely monitor the developments in the Israel- Hamas conflict, with a consensus emerging that the geopolitical risk will not elevate," he said.

A total of 3,825 shares were traded on BSE on Tuesday, of which 2,184 settled with gains. 1,506 stocks ended the session with gains while 135 shares remained unchanged. During the day, only ten shares hit their upper circuit, whereas merely serven shares tested the lower circuit levels for the day.

In the broader markets, KIOCL hit an upper circuit of 20 per cent, while Va Tech Wabag gained more than 13 per cent after the order win. Newgen Software Technologies rallied about 12 per cent after strong Q2 performance, while GRM Overseas and Chennai Petroleum Corporation gained 11 per cent each. Gensol Engineering hit an upper circuit of 10 per cent.

Among the losers, Prakash Industries tumbled more than 5 per cent, while Sterling and Wilson Renewable Energy hit lower circuits of 5 per cent. Antony Waste Handling Cell and Repro India shed 4 per cent each. AGI Greenpac, ADF Foods, GHCL Textiles and SpiceJet settled 3 per cent down each.

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