Stock Market Today: Sensex, Nifty End Volatile Session Higher Ahead Of GDP Data, FPIs Turn Net Buyers

Overseas investors turned net buyers of Indian equities on Thursday after three consecutive sessions of selling.

Foreign portfolio investors mopped up stocks worth Rs 3,568.1 crore, according to provisional data from the National Stock Exchange.

Domestic institutional investors turned sellers and offloaded equities worth Rs 230.2 crore, the NSE data showed.

Foreign institutions have been net sellers of Rs 24,205 crore worth of Indian equities so far in 2024, according to data from the National Securities Depository Ltd., updated till the previous trading day.

The S&P BSE Sensex closed 195.42 points, or 0.27% higher at 72,500.30, while the NSE Nifty 50 advanced 31.65 points, or 0.14% to end at 21,982.80.

The yield on the 10-year bond closed flat at 7.08%.

Source: Bloomberg

• The local currency strengthened by 2 paise to close at 82.91 against the U.S. Dollar.

• It closed at 82.93 on Wednesday.

Source: Bloomberg

The benchmark indices ended the choppy session higher on Thursday, ahead of the GDP announcement. The gains in the session were led by ICICI Bank Ltd. and Reliance Industries Ltd.

The S&P BSE Sensex closed 195.42 points, or 0.27%, higher at 72,500.3, while the NSE Nifty 50 advanced 31.65 points, or 0.14%, to end at 21,982.8.

During the day, the Sensex rose as much as 0.59% to 72,730, while the Nifty declined 0.50% to 20,060.55.

Domestic benchmark traded near a flat-line trend throughout the session, but some buoyancy emerged by the end of the day, according to Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services. "Investors adopted a cautious wait and watch approach on the verge of a heavy economic data week."

Stocks in the Asia-Pacific region closed on a mixed note, with the Nikkei 225 closing 0.11% lower and S&P ASX 200 ending 0.5% higher.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin breached the $63,000 mark on Thursday as it rose as much as 5.52%. The S&P 500 Index and Nasdaq Composite fell by 0.17% and 0.55%, respectively on Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 0.06%.

Brent crude was trading 0.47% lower at $83.29 a barrel. Gold was flat at 2,035.57 an ounce.

At the lower end, crucial support is positioned at 21,950 for Nifty, according to Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst, LKP Securities. "As long as the index maintains a position above 21950, there is a possibility of witnessing a recovery. Nevertheless, a decline below 21950 could potentially lead the index towards 21800."

Shares of Reliance Industries Ltd., ICICI Bank Ltd., State Bank of India, Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd., and Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. advanced the most on the Nifty 50.

Bajaj Auto, Apollo Hospitals Ltd., Hindustan Unilever Ltd., ITC Ltd., and Eicher Motors Ltd. weighed the index.

On BSE, 19 sectors out of 20 ended higher, and one lower. The S&P BSE Services index rose 1.46% to become the best-performing sector, while the S&P BSE Healthcare index fell 0.68% to become the worst performer.

Nifty Media is the only sector to decline on the NSE, while Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty Metal gained the most by 1.83% and 1.39%, respectively.

Broader markets outperformed benchmark indices. The S&P BSE Midcap index was 0.84% higher, and S&P BSE Smallcap ended 0.50% higher.

Market breadth was skewed in favour of buyers. Around 1,947 stocks rose, 1,841 stocks fell, and 121 remained unchanged on BSE.

India Q3 GDP has a moderate outlook on a QoQ basis, Vinod Nair said. "The U.S. personal consumption expenditure price index is due to provide a clue on the future interest rate cut path and China’s PMI index is scheduled to be released Friday."

• Promoter Sagar Cements sells 5% stake via an offer for sale.

• The promoter's stake in the company reduced to 90% from 95% earlier.

Source: Exchange Filing