MUMBAI: Notwithstanding slowdown blues, the temporary blip caused by structural reforms like the goods and services tax (GST) and demonetisation and concerns over weak corporate earnings and investments, markets signed off Samvat 2073 with a healthy 16 per cent growth adding over Rs 25 lakh crore to investors’ wealth.
On Wednesday, however, they ended flat, just below the record highs that benchmark Sensex and Nifty breached on Tuesday, as investors exercised caution due to weakening rupee that affected market sentiment and ahead of the long Diwali weekend.
The BSE and NSE will conduct a special Muhurat trading session on Thursday between 18:30 hrs and 19:30 hrs on the occasion of Diwali. The bourses will remain closed on Friday for ‘Diwali Balipratipada.’ While the Sensex gained 4,642.84 points, or 16.61 per cent, in the Hindu Samvat year 2073, the broader NSE Nifty surged 1,572.85 points, or 18.20 per cent during the period. It resumed lower at 32,518.56 and fell further to a low of 32,462.85 before ending at 32,584.35, down 24.81 points or 0.08 per cent.
The 50-share Nifty fell by 23.60 points or 0.23 per cent to close at 10,210.85 after moving between 10,175.75 and 10,236.45.
“NPA divergences have continued to be a strong theme in banks’ results, putting the banking stocks under pressure, but market remains expectant of more GST-related positivity in the coming days,” said Anand James, chief market strategist, Geojit Financial Services.
Axis Bank emerged the worst performer tumbling 9.52 per cent following a spike in bad loans, while other laggards included ICICI Bank, Cipla, SBI, Lupin, Sun Pharma, Asian Paints, Hindustan Unilever, and Tata Steel falling by up to 3.96 per cent.
Reliance Industries topped the gainers list surging 4.52 per cent, while Wipro rose 1.92 per cent. Among the sectoral indices, telecom fell 1.86 per cent, followed by bankex 1.79 per cent, healthcare 0.80 per cent, tech 0.67 per cent, auto 0.41 per cent and IT 0.35 per cent. The broader markets depicted a mixed trend, with the small-cap index falling 0.02 per cent, while the mid-cap rose 0.01 per cent.
As per the provisional data released by the stock exchanges, FPIs sold shares worth a net Rs 484.92 crore on Tuesday, while DIIs bought shares worth Rs 809.03 crore. Overseas, European shares edged higher as investors monitored the latest batch of earnings and economic data releases.
The BSE and NSE will conduct a special Muhurat trading session on Thursday between 18:30 hrs and 19:30 hrs on the occasion of Diwali