Market Wrap: Sensex Jumps 411 Points, Nifty Settles Above 25,800, Led By Gains In Heavyweights

Domestic equity market's benchmark indices extended gains for the fourth consecutive session on October 20, led by gains in index heavyweights amid positive Q2 results and global cues.

At close, Sensex was up 411.18 points, or 0.49 per cent, at 84,363.37. Likewise, Nifty 50 was up 133.30 points, or 0.52 per cent, at 25,843.15.

During the session, both the indices scaled their new 52-week highs. Sensex touched a high of 84,656.56 and Nifty 50 hit 25,926.20.

Mirroring the benchmark, broader market indices, too, closed in green. Nifty Midcap 100 ended 0.75 per cent higher, Nifty Smallcap 100 closed 0.46 per cent up, and Nifty 500, which represents more than 92 per cent of free-float market capitalisation of all NSE-listed stocks, also advanced 0.50 per cent in today's trade.

PSU Bank Emerges Top Sectoral Gainer

Sector-wise, Nifty PSU Bank emerged as the top gainer, rising 2.87 per cent. Nifty Oil & Gas followed with 1.42 per cent gains.

Barring Auto, Metal, Financial Services, and FMCG indices, all other major sectoral indices closed in green. Nifty IT closed 0.98 per cent higher, Nifty Pharma gained 0.84 per cent, and Nifty Bank settled 0.55 per cent up.

Nifty 50: Top Gainers & Losers

From the Nifty 50 index, Cipla gained 4.15 per cent, Reliance Industries advanced 3.61 per cent, Bajaj Finserv rose 2.79 per cent, Shriram Finance advanced 2.46 per cent, Dr Reddy's Laboratories zoomed 2.32 per cent, Axis Bank gained 2.07 per cent and State Bank of India (SBI) rose 2.01 per cent.

Bharti Airtel, Hindalco, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Titan, Infosys, InterGlobe Aviation, Apollo Hospitals, Tata Consumer Products, and Bajaj Finance were also among the gainers.

On the other hand, ICICI Bank lost 3.03 per cent, emerging as the biggest loser of the session. Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), JSW Steel, and Eternal (formerly Zomato), also lost 1.38 per cent, 1.32 per cent, and 1.23 per cent.

Other stocks losing end were Adani Ports, Power Grid, Eicher Motors, HDFC Life Insurance, Bajaj Auto, Trent, SBI Life Insurance, and Nestle India.

Stock Market Outlook

Stock exchanges NSE and BSE will remain shut on October 21 and 22 for Diwali celebrations. However, a special one-hour Muhurat Trading session will be held on October 21 to mark the beginning of Samvat 2082. The trading window will open from 1:45 PM to 2:45 PM, preceded by a pre-open session between 1:30 PM and 1:45 PM. Investors will be able to modify orders until 2:55 PM after the session ends. Accordingly, India’s stock market will re-open on Thursday, October 23.  

For market participants, the Muhurat Trading session on Dalal Street is seen as an auspicious start to the new Samvat year.

India-US Trade Deal: India is moving closer to sealing a trade agreement with the US, according a government official familiar with the discussion, as reported by Bloomberg earlier today. According to the official, talks have made solid progress and most differences are now resolved. Indian negotiators held what were described as “positive meetings” in Washington last week, and both sides are confident of a breakthrough soon, according to the government official.

Q2 Earnings: Market participants will be tracking July-September quarterly results of major companies like Hindustan Unilever, Coalgate Palmolive, and Laurus Labs among others, which are due on October 23.