Mid-day Mood | Nifty, Sensex hold firm as bank, energy counters rally; Pharma bucks trend

HUL, Asian Paints, and Titan Company were top Sensex losers

Benchmark indices Nifty and Sensex were firmly in the green in the afternoon on October 10, maintaining their strong start from the morning, after bank and energy shares saw a sharp uptick. Pharma and Healthcare stocks slightly dampened the sentiment on the Street.

At noon, the Sensex was up 268.67 points or 0.33 percent at 81,735.77, and the Nifty was up 61.00 points or 0.24 percent at 25,043.00. About 2092 shares advanced, 1206 shares declined, and 110 shares unchanged.

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The broader market, entailing the mid and small caps, also edged higher after rising 0.2 and 0.7 percent, respectively. There have been concerns over rich valuations, but the two have outperformed the Nifty by a comfortable margin since the start of the year. India VIX, the barometer to assess market anxiety, also cooled off by 4.2 percent to be at the 13.5 level.

Tata Consultancy Services, ahead of its Q2 result later today, was almost up by a percent. For TCS, the focus will remain on demand recovery and the generative AI (Gen AI) pipeline, as rival Accenture, has recently posted a stellar uptick in interest and revenue from Gen AI projects.

Also read: Noel Tata emerges as key figure in Tata Trust’s leadership transition

Adani Enterprises edged lower by about 2 percent to become the top loser on the Nifty after the company launched the first tranche of its qualified institutional placement (QIP) offering to raise as much as $500 million, to launch a second QIP in the coming months to raise more funds.

Sectoral Trend

Nifty Pharma and Nifty Healthcare lagged the most after slipping over a percent each. Nifty FMCG also traded lower. During RBI's MPC meeting, it was acknowledged that unseasonal rains and geopolitical events have increased volatility in commodity prices and there is a need for close monitoring.

Among gainers, Nifty Bank, Energy and Auto were the most active. Gains in HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Axis Bank, and IDFC Bank helped sustain the momentum in the index.

Read more: High interest in Tata Group stocks: Tata Investment Corp, Tata Chemicals rise up to 10%

Fundamental View

"The IT services companies’ 2QFY25 revenue growth is likely to be decent with Mid-tier companies should continue to do well though, especially companies with strong offerings in data engineering and ERP modernization and we expect their growth outperformance to be sustained over the medium term. Hence, the IT sector is likely to be in focus. Globally, all eyes will be on FOMC meeting minutes late today," Siddhartha Khemka, Head of Wealth at Motilal Oswal.

Technical View

"We are inclined to continue expecting that a free fall will be avoided, rooting on the supports at 24,940-880-830 pencilled in yesterday to step in. If this succeeds, the ascent to 25,390 could continue on anticipated lines," Anand James, Chief Market Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, said.

Key Nifty Gainers

Kotak Mahindra, BEL, NTPC

Key Nifty Losers

Adani Enterprises, Cipla, and Britannia

Key Sensex Gainers

Kotak Mahindra, NTPC, and Power Grid

Key Sensex Losers

HUL, Asian Paints, and Titan Company

Stock Moves

Oil India: Shares gained over 3 percent after Motilal Oswal Financial Services (MOFSL) reaffirmed its 'Buy' rating with a target price of Rs 720. The domestic brokerage highlighted the stock's attractive valuation and a solid outlook for volume growth. Oil India shares have corrected almost 25 percent from their record high of Rs 768 on August 30, following weak crude oil prices.

GR Infraprojects: Shares extended gains on the third day, rising 5 percent in the early trade on October 10 after the company received a Letter of Acceptance (LoA) from Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation Limited for Nagpur Metro Rail Project.

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