Sensex, Nifty Post Record Close In Last Hour Recovery, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank Lead: Market Wrap

The NSE Nifty 50 and BSE Sensex recovered from the day's low in the last leg of the trade to end Wednesday at record close. HDFC Bank Ltd. and Axis Bank Ltd. added to the gains. This is the fourth consecutive session that India's benchmarks recorded fresh highs.

The Nifty 50 ended 63.75 points, or 0.25% higher at 26,004.15, and the Sensex ended up 255.83 points, or 0.30% at 85,169.87.

Nifty ended at the highest closing level for the fourth session in a row.

In the last few minutes of the trade, the index gained 0.36% to a record high of 26,032.80, and Sensex rose 0.39% to a fresh high of 85,247.42.

Earlier in the day, the Nifty 50 declined 0.27% to 25,871.35, and the Sensex had fallen 0.20% to 84,743.04.

"For the majority of the session, the index remained rangebound, but a sudden spurt in the last hour of the trading session propelled the index to end the session at 26,004.15, with gains of 63.75 points," said Aditya Gaggar, director, Progressive Share Brokers Pvt.

On the sectoral front, media was the top performer, followed by energy and realty, while PSU banking and IT were the major laggards. Mid and Smallcaps corrected by 0.63% and 0.42% and underperformed the Frontline index, he noted.

As indicated yesterday, the index has virtually tested its immediate support of 25,850 and reversed to form a bullish candle on the daily chart, suggesting a trend continuation to rally till 26,200, while the support level is shifted higher to 25,950, Gaggar said.

Shares of HDFC Bank Ltd., Axis Bank Ltd., Power Grid Corp. of India, ICICI Bank Ltd., and NTPC Ltd. positively contributed to changes in the Nifty.

While those of Tata Motors Ltd., Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd., Tech Mahindra Ltd., LTIMindtree Ltd., and State Bank of India limited gains.

On NSE, seven out of 12 sectors advanced, four declined, and one remained unchanged. The NSE Nifty PSU Bank declined the most, and the NSE Nifty Media rose the most.

Broader indices underperformed. BSE Midcap closed 0.53% lower and BSE Smallcap closed 0.35% lower.

Eleven out of 20 sectoral indices ended lower and nine rose. BSE Power rose the most.

Market breadth was skewed in the favour of sellers. Around 2,243 stocks fell, 1,711 rose, and 111 remained unchanged on the BSE.