Stock Market Highlight: Nifty Closes Above 23,200; Sensex Rises Over 250 Points; NTPC, Trent Top Gainers

The NSE Nifty 50 and BSE Sensex extend gains for the second straight session on Wednesday, ahead of the US CPI data. After a positive opening, the markets remained non-directional as traders were possibly waiting for a breakout on either side.

The Nifty 50 ended 37.15 points or 0.16%, higher at 23,213.20, and the Sensex ended 224.45 points or 0.29%, higher at 76,724.08. During the session, the Nifty 50 rose 0.51% to the day's high of 23,293.65. The Sensex rose 0.64% to 76,835.61.

NTPC, Trent Ltd. and Power Grid Corporation Ltd. were the top gainers in the Nifty 50 index on Wednesday.

"Technically, after a long correction from the last two days, the market is witnessing range-bound activity," said Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research, Kotak Securities.

"The consecutive DOJI candlestick patterns indicate indecisiveness between bulls and bears, though the overall trend remains bearish. A move above 23,750 could signal a reversal, while a breach of 23,050 could push the index lower to 22,800. Immediate support is at 23,140, and resistance is at 23,350," said Aditya Gaggar, Director of Progressive Shares.

Reliance Industries Ltd., NTPC Ltd., Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd., Trent Ltd. and Larsen & Toubro Ltd. were added to the Nifty 50 index.

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., Axis Bank Ltd., Bajaj Finance Ltd., HDFC Bank and Bajaj Finserv Ltd. weighed on the Nifty 50 index.

On NSE, seven sectors advanced, and five declined out of 12. The NSE Nifty Realty rose the most, and the NSE Nifty Media declined the most.

Broader indices tracked the benchmarks. BSE Midcap ended 0.3% up and BSE Smallcap closed with 0.1% gain.

Four of the 21 sectoral indices ended lower and remaining rose. BSE Utilities rose the most.

Market breadth was skewed in the favour of buyers. As many as 2,144 stocks rose, 1,808 fell, and 112 remained unchanged on the BSE.