FINAL TRADE: Indices pare gains; Sensex ends 345 pts higher; Nifty just shy of 18,600

Final Trade, May 29, 2023: The benchmark indices came off the day's high but still ended with decent gains on May 29, Monday. At close, the S&P BSE Sensex stood at 62,846.38, up 345 points, or 0.55 per cent while the NSE's Nifty ended at 18,599, up 99 points, or 0.50 per cent. Of 50 stocks on Nifty, 34 advanced and 16 declined. 

“Nifty witnessed a strong opening on the back of strong US indices. The index gave up some gains as the day progressed but managed to close near 18,600 levels. While the overall texture of Nifty remains strong, it can witness small profit booking on account of bearish harmonic deep crab pattern that is formed on the hourly charts. This is expected to result in a small profit booking with options data suggesting 18,500 being a formidable support on the immediate basis," said Gaurav Bissa, VP, InCred Equities.

In the border market, Nifty Midcap 100 closed at a record high and Nifty small cap 100 settled 0.30 per cent higher at 10,040.6. Apart from that, all sectoral indices ended higher where realty, metal, and financials were the top-gaining indices. 

On the sectoral front, Nifty Bank closed at a record high led by HDFC Bank, State Bank of India (SBI), and IndusInd Bank.

"Banknifty had been struggling to cross and sustain above 44,160 levels for a while. However, it opened with a strong gap in line with Nifty and was seen trading comfortably above 44,200 levels. Though it gave up some gains towards the end, it managed to close firmly above the breakout area suggesting a move towards 45,000 is possible to be seen in the coming days. Since Banknifty has witnessed fresh breakouts, unlike Nifty, which has been trading considerably above the previous breakouts, one can expect strong outperformance by banknifty going forward,” said Bissa.

In Monday's trading session, Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) settled as the top gainer on NSE, ICICI Lombard shares also rallied after ICICI Bank's board approved raising a stake in the insurance company. IRCTC shares gained ahead of the release of the March quarter results. Greenlam Industries, Krsnaa Diagnostics, Medanta, and SML Isuzu shares rose after their Q4 earnings. 

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