Nifty 50 closes above 11,700 for first time since February 25; check what pushed markets higher today

Extending the gaining run for the fifth straight session on Wednesday, BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 ended in the positive territory. The S&P BSE Sensex gained 304 points, or 0.77 per cent to end at 39,879 while the broader Nifty 50 index finished at 11,739, up 76 points, or 0.66 per cent. Index heavyweights such as Reliance Industries (RIL), HDFC Bank, Infosys, Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) and Hindustan Unilever (HUL) contributed the most to the indices’ gain today. The broader market underperformed the equity benchmarks as S&P BSE MidCap index fell 0.61 per cent while S&P BSE SmallCap ended 0.40 per cent down.

Nifty ends at 7-month high: The broader Nifty 50 index ended above the crucial 11,700 level for the first time since February 25, 2020. “Observation is that main indices have almost reached the last high, in context with a bounce in the global and domestic economy,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

Titan top-performing stock: Titan Company stock was the top performer today, it ended 4.4 per cent up. The gain in the stock was fueled after the company in an exchange filing informed that its jewellery business did very well in July-September quarter, with a recovery rate of around 98 per cent in the second quarter. Bajaj Auto, Maruti Suzuki, Reliance Industries (RIL), UltraTech Cement, ONGC were among other gainers.

Top BSE Sensex laggards: Bajaj Finance was the top laggard as the company’s second-quarter business update disappointed the Dalal Street. Power Grid Corporation of India, Sun Pharma, Tata Steel, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bharti Airtel and State Bank of India were other losers on the Sensex.

Nifty Auto index top sectoral gainer: The trend among Nifty sectoral indices was mixed in today’s session. Nifty Auto index gained the most, up 1.4 per cent led by Bajaj Auto, Hero MotoCorp and Maruti Suzuki. While Nifty Media was the biggest loser, down over 2.5 per cent.

Global watch: Global cues were positive as Dow Jones Futures and Nasdaq Futures were half a per cent up. Asian stock markets too ended higher in Wednesday’s trade as investors shrugged off US President Donal Trump’s cancellation of negotiations on a new coronavirus relief bill.

Technical take: “After the initial gains, Nifty failed to rise materially post 10.30 am suggesting sector and stock rotation. A negative advance-decline ratio also suggested partial profit taking by traders/investors.  The next resistance for the Nifty continues to be at 11782,” said Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities.