Closing Bell: Nifty ends flat on Adani Enterprises woes; Sensex advances by 200 points on ITC, Infosys surge

Closing Bell: Indian frontline indices S&P BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty50 traded in a range on Thursday. Moving in a 780 points range, Sensex, settled at 59,932.24, up 224.16 points or 0.38 per cent. The index gained on surge witnessed in ITC and Infosys stocks. Meanwhile, broader market Nifty50 which traded within 200 points, closed at 17,610.40, down by 5.90 per cent 0.03 per cent. Banking gauge Nifty Bank finished 156 points or 0.39 per cent higher at 40,669.30.

India VIX, a measure of volatility in Nifty closed 6.24 per cent lower at 15.73. 

In the 50-stock Nifty50, 20 stocks advanced. The top gainers were Britannia Industries, ITC, Indusind Bank, Hindustan Unilever and Infosys while the top losers were Adani Enterprises, Adani Ports, UPL, HDFC Life and Eicher Motors. 

Source: NSE 

Source: NSE 

Out of 15 Nifty sectoral indices, 8 ended in the green. The top performing indices were Nifty FMCG (+2.28 per cent), Nifty IT (+1.83 per cent) and Nifty Private Bank (+0.68 per cent). The biggest laggards were Nifty Oil & Gas (-1.97 per cent), Nifty Metal (-4.35 per cent) and Nifty Healthcare Index (-0.45).

There was stock specific action in broader markets. Nifty Mid Cap 100 closed at 30,433, down 46.35 points or 0.15 per cent. In the 100-stock index, 60 stocks advanced. The top gainers were Clean Science and Technology, IDFC First Bank and PB Fintech while top losers were Whirlpool, Jindal Steel and Patanjali Foods. Nifty Small Cap 100 closed at 9,448.30, up by 55.55 points or 0.59 per cent. 55 stocks advanced, 44 declined and 1 remained unchanged. KPIT Technologies, Welspun India and Can Fin Homes shares advanced while Birla Soft, Sapphire and NBCC retreated.

The rupee fell 40 paise to close below the 82 per US dollar mark on Thursday, weighed down by foreign fund outflows and corporate dollar demand. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 81.81 against the greenback, and touched an intra-day high of 81.71 and a low of 82.20. It finally settled at 82.20 (provisional), down 40 paise over its previous close. On Wednesday, the rupee had appreciated 8 paise to close at 81.80 against the dollar after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget for 2023-24. The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.12 per cent lower at 101.10, after the US Fed hiked the interest rate along expected lines by 25 basis points to 4.50-4.75 per cent. PTI

Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures declined 0.14 per cent to USD 82.72 per barrel.

"The Indian rupee became the worst performer among Asian currencies amid foreign fund outflows and corporate dollar demand from hedgers. The weakness in the regional currencies and higher precious metal prices also weighed on the rupee," said Dilip Parmar, Research Analyst, HDFC Securities.

Parmar further said "spot USD-INR has crossed 82.10, the 50-day simple moving average, paving the way for 82.50 and 82.96 while on the downside 81.80 becomes the strong support." 

"The rout in Adani group stocks continued to play havoc as benchmark indices gyrated sharply intra-day before recouping lost ground on buying in IT and banking stocks. However, power, energy, oil & gas, and utility stocks were plundered as investors continued to exit in view of dampening sentiment," Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research (Retail), Kotak Securities Ltd said.

More than external factors, investors' sentiments have been hurt by the domestic mood, he said.

"Technically, the Nifty hovered between 17450 to 17650 range and also formed an inside body candle on daily charts which indicates the continuation of a range bound activity in the near future. However, a pullback rally is possible if the index trades above 17500. Above the same, it could move up to 17700-17750. On the flip side, a fresh selloff is possible only after the dismissal of 17500 and below the same the index could retest the level of 17380-17350," Chouhan said. 

(Disclaimer: The views/suggestions/advises expressed here in this article is solely by investment experts. Zee Business suggests its readers to consult with their investment advisers before making any financial decision.)