Benchmark Indices End Marginally Higher In Volatile Trade
Indian benchmark indices ended marginally higher on Wednesday in volatile trade as investors exercised caution ahead of monthly expiry on Thursday.
At close, the Sensex was up 54.13 points or 0.09 per cent at 59,085.43, while its broader peer the Nifty was up 27.50 points or 0.16 per cent at 17,605.
“Caution prevailed in the market ahead of monthly expiry on Thursday, while key benchmark indices eked out modest gains and shrugged off weak sentiment across most of Asian and European markets. Gains were muted as investors preferred to stay on the sidelines ahead of the Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s speech at the Jackson Hole symposium this Friday,” said Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research (Retail), Kotak Securities.
On the Sensex, percentage wise, IndusInd Bank was the star of the day, gaining 2.86 per cent. Other gainers included, NTPC (1.29 per cent), Larsen & Toubro (0.92 per cent), ICICI Bank (0.91 per cent), Power Grid Corporation of India (0.90 per cent).
Tata Steel shed 0.93 per cent. Other losers on the Sensex included TCS (0.86 per cent), Titan (0.80 per cent), Sun Pharmaceuticals (0.69 per cent), and State Bank of India (0.56 per cent).
Among sectors, realty index added 1 percent and bank, capital goods and metal indices up 0.5 percent each.
BSE midcap and smallcap indices rose 0.5 percent each.
"Technically, Nifty’s major hurdle continues to be at 18115 mark and above the same, the immediate target is placed at Nifty’s all-time-high at 18605 mark. For Thursday’s session, Nifty’s major hurdle is at 17757 mark," said Prashanth Tapse - Research Analyst, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities.
NDTV shares touched a 14-year high on the Adani deal and jumped 5 per cent. However, most Adani group stocks were trading in the negative for the second day after a CreditSights report on Tuesday which termed the ports to power conglomerate as deeply overleveraged.
Adani Enterprises rose nearly 4 per cent, Adani Power was locked in a 5 per cent lower circuit, Adani Wilmar was down 4.43 per cent, and Adani Green also plunged 3 per cent.
Earlier on Wednesday a Reuters poll showed that Indian equities are expected to post only minimal gains for the rest of the year amid rising volatility and cautioned that the risk to that lacklustre outlook is skewed to the downside.
Traders will now keep their eye on the Federal Reserve's Jackson Hole Symposium starting from Thursday to assess the tone of Fed Chair Jerome Powell on prospects and pace of future rate hikes.
