Sensex rises for 5th straight day; pharma, metal stocks gain most

NEW DELHI: Benchmark indices managed to end in the green for the fifth consecutive day on Thursday as major IT companies positively surprised with Q3 numbers, setting the tone for the rest of the earnings season.

Metals stole the show today. Pharma and PSE indices supported the rally. Sugar stocks were in demand on the back of ethanol push and robust outlook in CY22. Profit Booking was seen in select Cement & IT stocks.

The 30-share pack Sensex rose 85.26 points or 0.14 per cent to close at 61,235.30. The index gyrated in a range of 400 points. Its broader peer NSE Nifty climbed 45.45 points or 0.25 per cent to 18,257.80.


"The domestic market traded between gains and losses weighing the initial positive earnings results and weak global cues. Globally, western markets traded lower due to 4-decade high inflation as the US consumer price index rose by 7 per cent YoY in December,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

Market at a glance:

• Paytm continues its slide for the ninth day, down another 5 per cent
• Wipro slumps 6 per cent after a disappointing third quarter
• TCS adds 1 per cent after announcing buyback at Rs 4500/share
• India VIX, a barometer of future volatility, falls 3 per cent to 16.70
• Sintex twins tumble 5 per cent after resolution plans propose writing off equity

Among the bluechip names, Tata Steel was the top gainer, rising 6.26 per cent. JSW Steel, Sun Pharma, Coal India, L&T, Divi’s Labs, Cipla, UPL, Indian Oil and Hindalco Industries were other gainers.

Wipro was the top loser in the Nifty pack, falling 5.97 per cent. Asian Paints, HCL Tech, HDFC Bank, IndusInd Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Maruti Suzuki and Grasim were other stocks that ended in the red.

Broader market indices ended higher, and outperformed their headline peers. Nifty Smallcap index rose 0.61 per cent and Nifty Midcap index advanced 0.65 per cent. Nifty 500, the broadest index on NSE, ended up 0.34 per cent.

The not so decisive move in the index combined with a dip in the banking space is pointing towards some consolidation. Participants should focus on metal and pharma along with select counters from chemical, sugar and power space for long positions.

-Ajit Mishra, Religare Enterprises

KEC International, Rain Industries, Tanla Platforms, Polycab India, Tata Elxsi and Trent were top gainers from mid and smallcap indices, climbing in the range of 3-9 per cent.

Oberoi Realty, Fortis Healthcare, Ramco Cement, CSB Bank, Suzlon Energy and Anupam Rasayan were major losers from broader market space, falling in the range of 2-6 per cent.

The sectoral matrix on the NSE was mixed. Nifty Metal index was the biggest gainer, up 3.48 per cent, while Nifty Pharma gained 1.57 per cent. Nifty Realty index was the biggest loser, down 0.72 per cent. Nifty Bank and Nifty Financial Services indices also ended in the red.

Market breadth was in favour of gainers as 1,737 stocks ended in the green, while 1,681 names settled with cuts. As many as 411 securities hit 52-week highs, mostly from the smallcap space. Meanwhile, 8 names hit 52-week lows, mostly from the microcap space. About 430 stocks hit upper circuit limits and 420 lower circuit limits.

European markets were trading lower. London-based FTSE fell 0.04 per cent while Paris and Frankfurt declined 0.28 per cent and 0.06 per cent, respectively. In Asia, Japan, South Korea and China ended in the red while rest of the market ended in the green.