Stock market today: Halting a two-day fall, domestic blue-chip indices Nifty50 and Sensex returned to green territory on Thursday, March 14, led by buying interest in IT, oil & gas and metal shares though selling pressure in financial scrips limited the upside. Globally, equities registered cautious gains as investors remained on the back foot ahead of key macroeconomic data from the world's largest economy due this week.

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The Nifty50 gained 153.3 points, or 0.7 per cent, to settle at 22,151, while the Sensex added 335.4 points, or 0.5 per cent, to close at 73,097.3. 

Among Nifty stocks, Adani Enterprises, Adani Ports, Hindalco, Hero MotoCorp and ONGC were among the top gainers, rising around 3-6 per cent for the day, whereas Axis Bank, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finance, JSW Steel and State Bank of India (SBI) were the worst hit among the 13 losers in the 50-scrip basket, falling around 1-2 per cent.

"The market was able to recover half of the previous trading day’s sell-off aided by leverage-based square-offs, while institutional buying sustained the buoyancy. Domestic economic data showing easing wholesale inflation brought to ease concerns about the CPI trajectory ahead," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

Broader indices Nifty Smallcap 100 and Nifty Midcap 100 outperformed the headline gauges, finishing 3.5 per cent and 2.0 per cent higher, respectively, taking a breather after tumbling in the previous session amid worries about the results of a stress test on certain mutual funds schemes.

Small and mid-cap mutual funds will disclose stress test results from March 15, which will ascertain their ability to withstand sudden redemption pressures.

"The broader market is outperforming the headline indices, taking advantage of midcap and smallcap stocks as a bargaining strategy," he said.

Meanwhile, the Nifty Bank index settled 0.3 per cent lower at 46,825 amid weakness in counters such as Axis Bank and IndusInd Bank. 

Global markets

European shares climbed to a record high for a third straight day, supported by a raft of optimistic corporate updates, as investors awaited a key reading from the US that might offer clarity on the timing of imminent reductions in benchmark interest rates.

The pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.3 per cent at the last count and on track to clock an eighth straight weekly gain. 

With inputs from agencies

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