Stock Market Today: Nifty, Sensex Rebound Worst Fall In Over A Month; Small & Mid Caps Snap Three-Day Decline

Overseas investors remained net sellers of Indian equities on Thursday.

Foreign portfolio investors sold stocks worth Rs 1,356.29 crore, according to provisional data from the National Stock Exchange.

Domestic institutional investors remained buyers and mopped up equities worth Rs 139.47 crore, the NSE data showed.

Foreign institutions have been net buyers of Rs 16619 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 NSE Nifty 50 closed 153.30 points or 0.7% higher at 22,151.00, and the S&P BSE Sensex ended 335.39 points or 0.46% up at 73,097.28.

The yield on the 10-year bond closed flat at 7.04% on Thursday.

Source: Bloomberg

• The local currency strengthened by 3 paise to close at 82.83 against the U.S. Dollar.

• It closed at 82.86 on Wednesday.

Source: Bloomberg

India's benchmark indices recovered from worst selloff in over a month to end Thursday's trading session higher as Infosys Ltd., Larsen & Toubro Ltd., and Bharti Airtel Ltd. gained.

The NSE Nifty 50 settled 148.95 points or 0.68% higher at 22,146.65, and the S&P BSE Sensex ended 335.39 points or 0.46% up at 73,097.28.

Broader markets also rebounded from three-day decline. The NSE Nifty Smallcap 250 ended 3.11% higher at 13,892.70. The NSE Nifty Midcap 150 settled 2.3% higher at 17,308.75.

Intrday, the NSE Nifty 50 0.94% to 22,204.60, and the S&P BSE Sensex rose 0.83% to 73,364.30.

"Today, the benchmark indices witnessed pullback rally, the Nifty ends 153 points higher while the Sensex was up by 314 points. Among Sectors, Media, Digital, Oil and Gas, Metal stocks registered intraday buying interest whereas Banking and Financial stocks witnessed intraday selling pressure at higher levels," said Shrikant Chouhan, head equity research, Kotak Securities.

Technically, after muted opening the market bounce back sharply but it failed to close above 20-day Simple Moving Average resistance level. We are of the view that, the short-term market texture is still in to the weak side but intraday texture suggesting pullback formation is likely continue in the near future. For day traders now, 22,000/72,500 would be the crucial support level, above which, the nifty could continue the pullback formation till  22,250-22,275/73,400-73,500., Chouhan said.

On the flip side, below 22,000/72,500 the selling pressure is likely to accelerate. Below 22,000/72,500, the market could slip till 21,900-21,850/72,200-72,000. The intraday market texture is volatile hence; level based trading would be the ideal strategy for the day traders, he added.

Infosys Ltd., Larsen & Toubro Ltd., Bharti Airtel Ltd., Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., and HCL Technologies Ltd added positively to the index.

Axis Bank Ltd., HDFC Bank Ltd., ITC Ltd., State Bank of India, and Bajaj Finance Ltd limited gains to the index.

On NSE, 10 sectors advanced, and two declined out of 12 sectors. the Nifty Oil & Gas sector rose the most among sectoral indices, and the Nifty Bank index fell the most.

Broader markets outperformed. S&P BSE MidCap closed 2.28% higher and S&P BSE SmallCap ended 3.11% higher.

On BSE, all 20 sectoral indices ended higher, with the S&P BSE Services rising the most.

Market breadth was skewed in favour of buyers. Around 2,733 stocks rose, 1,143 declined, and 82 remained unchanged on BSE.

• TVS Motor Co. Ltd is to consider issuance of redeemable preferential shares March 20.

Source: Exchange Filing