Stock Market Today: Nifty Ends At Over Two-Month High; FPIs Stay Net Buyers

Overseas investors stay net buyers for the third consecutive sessions on Tuesday.

Foreign portfolio investors bought stocks worth Rs 783.82 crore, according to provisional data from the National Stock Exchange.

Domestic institutional investors continued as buyers and purchased stocks worth Rs 1,324.98 crore, the NSE data showed.

Foreign institutions have been net buyers of Rs 98,872 crore worth of Indian equities so far in 2023, according to data from the National Securities Depository Ltd., updated till the previous trading day.

The yield on the 10-year bond closed flat at 7.28% on Tuesday.

Source: Bloomberg

• The local currency strengthened about 4 paise to close at 83.34 against the U.S dollar on Tuesday.

• It closed at 83.38 on Friday.

Source: Bloomberg

India's benchmark stock indices ended Tuesday higher after a day's break on Monday for Guru Nanak Jayanti. The indices were mostly mixed through the day before recovering as Adani group company stocks added as much as Rs 1,31,907 crore in investor wealth intraday, the biggest single-day surge since April 11, 2022.

Metal and energy sectors gained, while I.T. sector recovered. Healthcare stocks were under pressure on Tuesday.

NSE Nifty 50 Index ended just below the 19,900 mark, at its highest level since Sept. 20, whereas Sensex closed above 66,200 level, the highest close since Oct. 17. The S&P BSE Sensex Index closed up 204.16 points, or 0.3%, at 66174.20 while the NSE Nifty 50 was 95 points or 0.48% higher at 19,889.70.

The next leg of positive momentum will be only above 19,900 levels and on the downside the support is at 19,550-19,600 levels, said Vikas Jain, senior research analyst at Reliance Securities.

"Technically, after a promising uptrend, the market is seeing range-bound activity at higher levels," said Shrikant Chouhan – head equity research, Kotak Securities Ltd.

The market construct is turning favourable aided by global and domestic factors, according to Dr V K Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Financial Services. "Globally there is tailwind from the U.S. market with S&P 500 up by 8.7% so far this month, which, in turn, is supported by falling US bond yields. Domestically, macro indicators suggest strong growth momentum in the economy. Record order inflows for capital goods companies and robust credit growth are strong indicators of the growth momentum in the economy," he added.

Adani Enterprises Ltd., Tata Motors Ltd., Axis Bank Ltd., Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd., and Bharti Airtel Ltd. were positively adding to the change in the Nifty 50 Index.

Whereas, ICICI Bank Ltd., HDFC Bank Ltd., ITC Ltd., Larsen & Toubro Ltd. and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. were negatively contributing to the change.

"This week is likely to be volatile but a rally is likely soon. FIIs have already turned buyers. FII and DII money flows can trigger a large-cap led rally," said Dr. V K Vijayakumar.

The broader markets ended higher the S&P BSE MidCap Index was down 0.30%, whereas S&P BSE SmallCap Index was 0.06% higher.

Fifteen out of 20 sectors compiled by BSE advanced, while five sectors declined. S&P BSE Utilities and S&P Power rose the most.

The market breadth was skewed in the favour of the buyers. About 1,987 stocks rose, 1,806 declined, while 179 remained unchanged on the BSE.

The only unknown now is the outcome of the state election results, as per Geojit Financial Services. "The exit polls on Thursday are likely to give indications of the election outcomes and its impact on the crucial General election in 2024. The U.S. inflation data on Thursday and the Powell speech on Friday will influence global market trends, said Geojit's Dr. V K Vijayakumar.

• 35 lakh shares changed hands in a large trade

• 0.23% equity changed hands at Rs 196.65 apiece

• Buyers and sellers not known immediately

Source: Bloomberg