Sensex Above 74,000, Nifty Nears 22,500 As HDFC Bank, RIL, L&T Gain: Midday Market Update
The Nifty 50 was trading 0.39% higher at 22,455.55, and the Sensex rose 0.45% to trade at 74,072.09 as of 11:43 a.m.
India's key equity indices held on to their gains through midday on Wednesday, tracking positive Asian markets, as shares of index heavyweights HDFC Bank Ltd., Larsen & Toubro Ltd., and Reliance Industries Ltd. rose.
The NSE Nifty 50 was trading 79.55 points, or 0.36%, higher at 22,447.55, while the S&P BSE Sensex rose 254.51 points, or 0.35%, to trade at 73,992.96 as of 1:02 p.m.
There is a positive bias in the market, but the momentum is missing, according to Kush Bohra, founder of Kushbohra.com. "There is a gap somewhere close to the 22,500 mark and the Nifty will try to fill that up," he said. Once that is done, he sees some cool-off and advises traders to take some money home.
The over-19% fall in VIX has something to do with lot size change that's going to come in from the May series, and a rebound is expected, he said.
Shares of Bajaj Finance Ltd., HDFC Bank Ltd., Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd., Larsen & Toubro Ltd. and Reliance Industries Ltd. were contributing the most to the Nifty.
While those of Bharti Airtel Ltd., Hindustan Unilever Ltd., Infosys Ltd., Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. and Tata Consumer Products Ltd. were weighing on the index.
On NSE, most sectoral indices were up, with Nifty Metal rising over 2%. Nifty IT and Nifty PSU Bank fell and Nifty FMCG traded flat.
Broader markets outperformed the benchmarks. The S&P BSE Midcap was 0.73% higher, and the S&P BSE Smallcap was up 0.92%.
On BSE, 17 out of 20 sectors advanced, and three declined. S&P BSE Metal was the top gainer, and S&P BSE Telecommunication was the worst performer.
Market breadth was skewed in the favour of buyers. Around 2,347 stocks rose, 1,453 stocks declined, and 126 stock remained unchanged on BSE.
