Closing Bell: Equities continue to scale higher; Nifty Midcap 100 index closes near fresh peaks

Indian equities continued to trend higher in Wednesday's session in a volatile trade. Nifty and Sensex both closed at a fresh record high led by sharp gains in metal, pharma and media stocks. The bluechip Nifty index ended 0.38 per cent higher at 24,951.15 while the Sensex index closed at a fresh closing peak of 81,741.34, up 0.35 per cent. Meanwhile, Bank Nifty also recouped its initial losses of the day and ended on a positive note led by gains from Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank.

Furthermore, despite warnings on the broader markets by experts, they continued to scale northward and outperform the headline indices. Earlier in the day, both Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 logged fresh peaks.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services on the markets performance said, "The domestic market is attempting to cross above the psychological threshold of 25,000, as subdued Q1FY25 earnings and stretched valuations are curbing the challenge, while positive global trends and sector rotation are supporting the traction."

Positive global sentiment driven by expectations of an easing interest rate cycle by the FED and RBI in the medium term, owing to benign inflation, ignited the rally today. As expected, the BoJ raised its interest rate while all eyes are on US FED policy. The weakening dollar is showing signs for a rate cut in September, he added.

From the Nifty pack, top gainers included stocks like JSW Steel, Asian Paints, HDFC Life, NTPC and SBI Life, while the laggards included stocks like Britannia, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, RIL, Grasim Industries and Tata Consumer Products.

Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst, LKP Securities suggesting of the technicals for the Nifty said, "Nifty remained strong throughout the day as put writers were seen shifting their positions to 24,900. On the hourly chart, the index has given a consolidation breakout. The RSI is in a bullish crossover on both the hourly and daily timeframes. A fresh leg of bullishness starts above 25,000, while support is placed at 24,900. If the index falls below this level, it might correct down towards 24,750."

Meanwhile, European markets traded in the positive territory as investors keep an eye on the likely outcome by the US Fed later today.