The Indian benchmark indices extended the winning run to a third session day on March 8, supported by power, capital goods and auto stocks. At close, the Sensex was up 123.63 points, or 0.21 percent, at 60,348.09, and the Nifty was up 42.90 points, or 0.24 percent, at 17,754.40.
The market started on a negative note amid weak global cues following hawkish comments from US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, indicating bigger rate hikes ahead. However, a last-hour recovery helped the market to close near the day's high.
"The global market has fallen back into the grip of uncertainty as the Fed chief signalled the possibility of a prolonged and faster rate hike, contradicting a dovish comment made by another Fed official last week," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.
"The market now anticipates a 50 bps rate hike, which has pushed the dollar index to a three-month high. However, a strong recovery was seen in the domestic market towards the end of the day, which kept the bulls on the move," he added.
Also Read: Fed's Jerome Powell sets the table for higher and possibly faster rate hikes
Stocks and sectors
IndusInd Bank, Adani Ports, Adani Enterprises, Bajaj Auto and M&M were among the biggest gainers on the Nifty, while losers were Bajaj Finance, Hindalco Industries, Tech Mahindra, Apollo Hospitals and Infosys.
A mixed trend was seen on the sectoral front, with Nifty bank, infra, energy, auto, and PSU Bank up 0.5 percent each. However, some selling was seen in the pharma and information technology names.
The BSE midcap index was up 0.60 percent and the smallcap index gained 0.3 percent.
On the BSE, the power index was up nearly 2 percent, while capital goods and auto indices were up a percent each. FMCG and oil & gas indices rose 0.5 percent each. Healthcare, realty, metal and information technology indices were down 0.3-0.5 percent.
Wonderla Holidays, PNB Housing Finance, NCC and Jindal Saw were among the BSE stocks that touched their 52-week high. On the other hand, Jubilant Pharmova, Ipca Laboratories, Gillette India, Relaxo Footwears, Pfizer, Page Industries, Sequent Scientific, Tide Water Oil fell to a 52-week low.
Among individual stocks, a volume spike of more than 300 percent was seen in Balrampur Chini Mills, Hindustan Aeronautics and Shriram Finance.
A long build-up was seen in Balrampur Chini Mills, Hindustan Aeronautics and IndusInd Bank, while a short build-up was seen in Indus Towers, Crompton Greaves Consumer Electrical and Dr Lal PathLabs
Outlook for March 9
Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research (Retail), Kotak Securities
The benchmark indices had a tumultuous trading session. In terms of industries, there was modest purchasing in the banking and select auto companies, though the realty and IT indices experienced higher levels of intraday profit booking.
Technically, after a weak opening, the index recovered sharply. From the lowest point of the day, the Nifty recovered over 150 points. It also formed a bullish candle, which is broadly positive.
As long as the index trades above 17,700 or 20-day SMA, the uptrend is likely to continue. The market can move to 17,850-17,875. On the flip side, below 17,700, selling pressure is likely to accelerate and the market can retest 17,600-17,550.
Jatin Gedia, Technical Research Analyst, Sharekhan by BNP Paribas
On the daily charts, the Nifty, after a sharp rally in the previous couple of trading sessions, witnessed a day of consolidation. The zone of 17,650 – 17,600 acted as a strong support and witnessed buying interest.
The hourly Bollinger bands are contracting and the hourly momentum indicator has a negative crossover, both of which indicate that consolidation is likely before the index begins a trending move. From a short-term perspective, the range of consolidation is likely to be 17,400-17,925.
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