Sensex Rises 354 Points, Ends Above 75,000 For First Time; Nifty Near 22,750; ITC Up 2%

Market Today: Equity markets were rangebound with positive bias on Wednesday as investors await fresh triggers for directional moves. The S&P BSE Sensex ended with gains of 354 points, or 0.47 per cent, at 75,038 levels, while the Nifty50 closed at 22,754, up 111 points or 0.49 per cent.

ITC, Kotak Bank, SBI, Tech M, Bharti Airtel, Asian Paints, JSW Steel, Infosys, and Reliance Industries were the top winners on the 30-stock index, rising between 1 per cent and 2 per cent.

Meanwhile, in the broader markets, outperformed the market with the BSE MidCap index and the BSE SmallCap index advancing 0.89 per cent and 0.46 per cent, respectively.

Among sectors, the Nifty PSU Bank, FMCG, Media, and Metal indices gained in the range o 1.23 per cent to 1.80 per cent, while Pharma and Auto indices ended in the red.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services, said: “Indian markets sustained their upward momentum, buoyed by a robust performance in the broader market, albeit slightly lagging behind its Asian and European counterparts. Investor attention remains fixated on the impending release of the FOMC minutes and US inflation data later today. Following the release of strong US job data, market sentiments are inclined towards an anticipation of spike inflation, thereby reducing the likelihood of a near-term rate cut. Additionally, Fitch’s recent downgrade of China’s credit rating could potentially reverberate through the global economy, warranting a caution.”

Global Cues

Asian stocks were muted as investors kept watch for possible intervention by Japanese authorities to stop the yen’s decline and awaited US inflation data later on Wednesday for clues to future interest rate moves.

Tokyo stocks opened lower on Wednesday with investors expected to take a wait-and-see stance ahead of the release of US inflation data. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index dropped 0.34 percent, or 133.84 points, to 39,639.29 while the broader Topix index slipped 0.31 percent, or 8.61 points, to 2,746.08.

The S&P 500 posted nominal gains on Tuesday, a day ahead of major inflation data, weighed down by financial stocks as investors braced for major US banks to kick off earnings reporting season on Friday.