Equity markets log gains for 2nd day: power shares advance

Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty closed higher for the second straight session on Tuesday, helped by buying in power and utility stocks amid positive quarterly numbers announced by heavyweight companies.

However, foreign fund outflows and a muted trend in global equities capped the gains, traders said.

In a highly volatile trade, the 30-share BSE Sensex rose 74.61 points or 0.12 per cent to settle at 60,130.71. During the day, it hit a high of 60,268.67 and a low of 60,202.77.

The broader NSE Nifty gained 25.85 points or 0.15 per cent to end at 17,769.25.

”The domestic market succeeded in holding the gains, though multiple attempts were made by bears to reverse the trend considering the weak global market.

”Investors are highly nervous as they await the release of US GDP and PCE inflation data, which will guide the upcoming Fed action. The Fed is expected to raise their rates by another 25bps in its announcement on 3rd May,” according to Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

Bajaj Finance led the Sensex gainers’ chart, spurting up to 2.38 per cent, followed by Bajaj Finserve rising 2.11 per cent and IndusInd Bank closing 1.66 per cent higher. Bharti Airtel, SBI and L&T increased by 1.60 per cent, 1.28 per cent and 0.92 per cent, respectively.

In contrast, HDFC twins, Tech Mahindra, Sun Pharma, Wipro and Axis Bank were among the main laggards, shedding up to 1.47 per cent.

In the broader market, the BSE midcap gauge remained unchanged and smallcap index inched up 0.19 per cent.

Among sectoral indices, the power went up by 1.49 per cent, utilities rose by 1.32 per cent and bankex went up by 1.49 per cent, financial services rose by 1.21 per cent, oil & gas moved up 0.90 per cent and realty gained by 0.57 per cent. Besides, energy, capital goods and metal were the other gainers.

On the other hand, consumer durables fell by 0.91 per cent, healthcare fell by 0.09 per cent and information and technology declined by 0.08 per cent.

”Cautious optimism prevailed as sluggish to negative global markets’ sentiment prompted traders to take selective bets in metals, oil & gas, and financial stocks. The bigger concern is that the rate hike cycle in the US and European nations is likely to continue, which may further push key economies into a slowdown phase and hurt growth,” said Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research (Retail), Kotak Securities Ltd.

Elsewhere in Asia, equity markets in Shanghai, Seoul and Hong Kong suffered losses, while Tokyo logged gains.

Equity exchanges in Europe were trading in the red in mid-session deals. Markets in the US closed on a mixed note on Monday.

”Global stocks fell broadly, and the US dollar also weakened early on Tuesday, as investors weigh corporate earnings and economic growth outlooks in a busy week and grow increasingly nervous about the extent of China’s recovery and potential US restrictions on investments in the world’s second-biggest economy,” Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities, said.

International oil benchmark Brent crude fell 0.29 per cent to USD 82.49 per barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded shares worth a net Rs 412.27 crore on Monday, according to exchange data. ”Markets witnessed a positive session but the benchmark Nifty wobbled at the day’s high amidst a cautious market mood in the backdrop of overbought technical conditions.

”Volatility and choppiness are likely to continue in Wednesday’s trading session with Nifty’s biggest support seen at the 17,543 mark, while the index may gain strength only above the 17,863 mark,” Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd, said.