Stock Market Today: Nifty, Sensex End Higher For Fourth Day As ICICI Bank, Kotak Bank Lead

Overseas investors stayed net sellers on Wednesday for the third consecutive session. Foreign portfolio investors offloaded stocks worth Rs 2,511.7 crore, according to provisional data from the National Stock Exchange.

Domestic institutional investors stayed net buyers for the third day and mopped up equities worth Rs 3,809.9 crore, the NSE data showed.

Foreign institutions have been net buyers of Rs 335 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 ended 34.40 points or 0.15% higher at 22,402.40, and the S&P BSE Sensex gained 114.48 points or 0.16% to close at 73,852.94.

• The local currency strengthened by 2 paise to close at 83.32 against the U.S. Dollar.

• It closed at 83.34 a dollar on Tuesday.

Source: Bloomberg

India's benchmark indices extended gains to fourth session as Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd., ICICI Bank Ltd., and Tata Steel Ltd. gained.

The NSE Nifty 50 ended 34.40 points or 0.15% higher at 22,402.40, and the S&P BSE Sensex ended 114.48 points or 0.16% up at 73,852.94.

Intraday, the NSE Nifty 50 rose 0.48% to 22,476.45, and the S&P BSE 0.52%.

"Late selling from the higher levels erased the majority of the Index gains to settle at 22,402.40 with gains of 34.40 points. From the sectoral point of view, Metal was the top gainer by ending the session with gains of over 2.50% followed by Realty while pressure was observed in the IT and Media segments. Mid and Smallcaps extended their streak of outperformance. On the technical front, nothing has changed in Nifty50 and we continue to stick to our view i.e. need to fill the 22,430-22,500 gap zone to extend its uptrend while a level of 22,200 (50DMA) will continue to act as support." Aditya Gaggar, Director, Progressive Shares.

"Indian markets lagged the Asian peers as Q4 earnings remained largely subdued with weak results from IT and a few index heavyweights results also disappointed. However, buoyed by strong manufacturing and service sectors, the Indian composite PMI hit a multi-year high, reflecting domestic resilience bringing some buoyancy in the broad market. Globally, investor sentiment improved with easing tensions in the Middle East and declining oil prices," said Vinod Nair, head of research, Geojit Financial Services.

Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd., ICICI Bank Ltd., Larsen & Toubro Ltd., Tata Steel Ltd., and HDFC Bank Ltd. added to the index.

Reliance Industries Ltd., Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., Bharti Airtel Ltd., and Infosys Ltd. limited gains in the index.

On NSE, eight sectors advanced out of 12, and four declined. The NSE Nifty Metal index was the top gainer, while the NSE Nifty IT index was the top loser.

Broader markets outperformed benchmark indices. The S&P BSE Midcap ended 0.92% higher and the S&P BSE Smallcap settled 0.79% up.

On BSE, 18 sectors out of 20 advanced, and two declined. The S&P BSE Metal index was the best performing sector, while the S&P BSE Telecommunication was the worst performing sector.

Market breadth was skewed in favour of the buyers. Around 2,254 stocks rise, 1,561 stocks declined, and 114 stocks remained unchanged on BSE.

• Net profit up 10% at Rs 156 crore vs Rs 142 crore YoY

• NII up 4% at Rs 507 crore vs Rs 486 crore YoY

• Gross NPA at 3.23% vs 3.43% QoQ

• Net NPA at 1.11% vs 1.22% QoQ

• NII up 11% at Rs 786 crore vs Rs 707 crore YoY

• Net profit up 9.3% at Rs 208 crore vs Rs 190 crore YoY

• Gross NPA at 2.61% vs 2.53% QoQ

• Net NPA at 1.17% vs 1.13% QoQ