FINAL TRADE: Equities end in green, Nifty settles below 25,450; broader markets stage recovery

FINAL TRADE: Indian equities in Thursday's session ended with gains after starting at fresh record highs after an oversized rate cut by the Federal Reserve. At the close, Nifty settled below 25,450 levels at 25,415.8, up 0.15 per cent or 38.25 points falling from record highs scaled today, while the Sensex ended 0.22 per cent or 185.66 points higher at 83,133.89.

Meanwhile, broader indices which logged sharp fall of over 2 per cent also staged a smart recovery, nonetheless, still ended with a cut.

Sectorally, FMCG, banking, auto, consumer durable and realty ended in the green, while metal, PSU Bank and oil & gas indices ended with cut of up to 1 per cent. Furthermore, the IT index after an initial recovery ended in the red for the second straight day as headwinds shall remain for the sector.

Atul Parakh, CEO of Bigul said, "the pressure on mid and small-cap stocks is influenced by various factors including regulatory concerns, valuation adjustments, profit booking, seasonal trends, liquidity issues, selling from promoters, and market sentiments."

Collectively, these factors have created a challenging environment for mid and small-cap indices, leading to corrections in their values, he added.

From the Nifty pack, top gainers included stocks like NTPC, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Titan, Nestle and HUL, while laggards included stocks such as BPCL, Coal India, ONGC, Adani Ports and Shriram Finance.

Notably after the wider-than-expected rate cut by the US Fed, Santosh Meena, Head of Research, Swastika Investmart believes that while logically this move is positive for the stock market, it seems the market had already factored in the rate cut, so we might not see a sustained upward trend.

However, there is a potential risk of profit booking, particularly in the midcap and smallcap sector, she cautioned.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services on the markets performance today said, "The benchmark indices concluded with a minor gain after hitting record highs post the US FED's more than expected interest rates cut of 50 bps and hinted for further reduction."

The substantial rate cut sparked concerns over global slowdown, resulting in profit booking in mid & small cap trading at premium valuation. he added.

Meanwhile, European stocks also traded with sharp gains of up to 2 per cent as the Fed delivered initiated easing cycle, while the focus remained on the BoE's policy decision.