Closing Bell: Sensex, Nifty end flat amid volatility; IT stocks gain

Follow our LIVE blog for the latest updates as Supreme Court to resume hearing on Loan Moratorium case today

Taking Stock: Nifty rallies for 9th session; small & midcaps underperform

Sectorally, the S&P BSE Energy index rose 1.5 percent, followed by the S&P BSE IT which was up 1.4 percent, and the S&P BSE Power index closed with gains of 0.67 percent.

Manish Hathiramani, Proprietary Index Trader and Technical Analyst, Deen Dayal Investments:

The Index closed in the same flat manner in which it opened this morning. The markets moved in a tight 100 point range between 11880-11980. 11800 is good support for the Nifty and 12000-12050 is the short term resistance. When we get past those levels, we should be moving towards 12200-12300 levels.

Wipro Q2 results:

Wipro has registered a 3.2 percent sequential growth in consolidated profit for the quarter ended September 2020, while IT services segment earnings were ahead of analysts estimates on all front. The company announced share buyback of Rs 9,500 crore.

Consolidated profit increased to Rs 2,465.7 crore for the quarter, compared to Rs 2,390.4 crore in previous quarter.

Consolidated revenue during the quarter increased 1.2 percent sequentially to Rs 15,096.7 crore.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services:

Market may consolidate due to below than anticipated stimulus package and the large part of the positive Q2 results announced till date is well factored in the prices. The momentum may reverse into a narrow-range, in the near-term, while the undercurrent of the rally is still positive and a break-up is likely based-on the continuity of positive results, more fiscal measures in the future  and developments in the global market. Today, the banking sector lost some grounds due to adjournment of moratorium hearing to next day.

Ajit Mishra, VP - Research, Religare Broking:

Markets remained range-bound for the second day in a row and ended almost unchanged. Mixed global cues and weak macroeconomic data was weighing on the sentiments. After the initial up move, the benchmark gradually inched lower however buying interest in select index majors capped the damage. Consequently, the Nifty index settled on a flat note at 11,935 levels. A mixed trend was witnessed on the sector front, wherein IT, Energy and Metals were the top gainers while Healthcare, Finance and Consumer durable were the laggards. The broader market indices remained lackluster and ended lower in the range of 0.1-0.3%.

We feel it’s a healthy pause and suggest using further dip to create fresh longs in the index. Nifty has immediate support at 11,800. Stocks, on the other hand, are witnessing erratic swings but it’s not new during the earnings season. Traders should plan their trades accordingly and prefer large-cap over others.

Market close: Market ended flat with positive bias in the volatile session on October 13.

At close, the Sensex was up 31.71 points or 0.08% at 40625.51, and the Nifty was up 3.50 points or 0.03% at 11934.50. About 1129 shares have advanced, 1459 shares declined, and 177 shares are unchanged.

HCL Tech, Infosys, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Reliance Industries and UltraTech Cement were among major gainers on the Nifty, while losers were Cipla, Titan Company, Divis Lab, Adani Ports and Sun Pharma.

On the sectoral front, buying seen in the energy, IT, metal, while selling witnessed in the auto, bank, FMCG and pharma indices.

Jateen Trivedi, Senior Research Analyst (Commodity & Currency) at LKP Securities:

Rupee traded weak on Tuesday on likely dollar buying as dollar index showed strength. Although the market remains in tight range of 72.80-73.75 broadly. Some more upside is very likely in coming sessions as capital markets show some selling in financials.

Nifty Pharma Index shed over 1 percent dragged by the Cipla, Aurobindo Pharma, Cadila Healthcare:

SPRINT partners with Cyient: 

Cyient and SPRINT (Space Research and Innovation Network for Technology), a UK based business innovation support programme, has announced its strategic partnership to accelerate the innovation in the UK space sector and to strengthen the mutual focus on industry
collaboration. 

Bajaj Finserv applies for mutual fund license:

Financial services giant, Bajaj Finserv, could be the latest business house to start a mutual fund (MF) business. The status of MF applications disclosed by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) shows that Bajaj Finserv had applied for an MF license on September 28, 2020. 

Market Updates: Benchmark indices are trading flat in the afternoon session.

At 14:43 IST, the Sensex was up 25.75 points or 0.06% at 40619.55, and the Nifty was up 4.30 points or 0.04% at 11935.30. About 986 shares have advanced, 1427 shares declined, and 138 shares are unchanged.