Equity benchmarks the Sensex and the Nifty ended February 9 with marginal gains in a choppy day of trade as investors waited for further triggers. Banks saw buying in dips, while metals and realty came under selling pressure.
The Sensex closed 167.06 points, or 0.23 percent, up at 71,595.49, while the Nifty closed 64.55 points, or 0.3 percent, higher at 21,782.50. About 1,329 shares advanced, 2,509 declined and 94 were unchanged.
Broader markets closed lower, underperforming the benchmarks. Nifty Midcap 100 declined 0.89 percent and Nifty smallcap 100 1.40 percent.
"After a volatile session, the market ended on a positive note, aided by a rebound in banking stocks after yesterday’s sell-off. Mid- and small-cap indices bled the most as the sentiment on the broader indices remains vigilant due to their rich valuation. Caution prevails in the market ahead of the release of US, UK, and Indian inflation data next week, while the US 10 yr yield is inching higher," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.
Stocks and sectors
Sectoral matrix was mixed. Nifty Bank, after a day of heavy selling, found buyers again. The index rose 1.38 percent. This was followed by about a percent gain in Nifty Healthcare and half a percent gain in Nifty Pharma.
Nifty Metal was the biggest sectoral loser, down 1.54 percent. Nifty Realty, Nifty IT and Nifty Media were others that ended the day with cuts, as s=respective constituent stocks saw selling during the day.
Grasim Industries was the biggest gainer among Nifty 50 stocks, rising 5.92 percent. SBI, Apollo Hospitals, Sun Pharma and ICICI Bank were other top gainers rising 2-4 percent.
Mahindra & Mahindra was the top loser in the pack, down 2.46 percent. Bharti Airtel, NTPC, ONGC and Tata Steel were other top losers slipping more than a percent each.
OUTLOOK for Feb 12
Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities
After displaying volatility in intra-day trades, markets managed to end in positive territory after 2-session losses on the back of renewed optimism in banking stocks. However, selling in IT, telecom, metals and oil & gas stocks limited the market upside. There is lack of conviction due to pessimism over delay in rate cuts by the US Fed as the persisting global tensions and its likely impact on the inflation going ahead is holding back central banks from initiating rate cuts.
Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst, LKP Securities
Nifty started flat and remained sideways during the trading session. It found support at the 20DMA for the second day in a row. The trend could weaken if it decisively drops below 21,690. A decisive fall below 21690 may trigger a correction towards 21,500. On the contrary, if it moves above 21,800, we might observe a recovery in the near term.
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