Markets maintain momentum for eighth day; Nifty nears 18k

Mumbai, Apr 12 (PTI) Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty extended rally for the eighth straight session on Wednesday, propelled by intense buying in IT, healthcare and auto stocks amid sustained foreign fund inflows.

A strengthening rupee and positive opening in European markets further bolstered sentiment, traders said.

Industrial Production data for February and March inflation rates are scheduled to be announced post-market hours. TCS will kick start the Q4 earnings season later in the day.

The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 235.05 points or 0.39 per cent to settle at 60,392.77, as 17 of its scrips marched higher. During the session, it jumped 279.92 points or 0.46 per cent to 60,437.64.

The broader NSE Nifty gained 90.10 points or 0.51 per cent to finish at 17,812.40, with 38 of its scrips ending in the green.

In eight days, the BSE benchmark jumped 2,779.05 points or 4.82 per cent, while Nifty climbed 860.7 points or 5 per cent.

“Nifty held on to steady gains on April 12 to end higher for the eighth straight day in trade. Investors in India await the CPI and IIP data post-market, which is a key factor to determine the magnitude of rate hikes by the central bank.

“TCS is also expected to report its Q4 numbers in the evening. In the US CPI numbers are due for March. These factors could influence the near-term direction of the market,” said Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities.

Among the Sensex firms, Infosys, Tata Motors, HDFC Bank, Asian Paints, Tech Mahindra, HDFC, Tata Consultancy Services, Sun Pharma and ICICI Bank were the biggest winners.

On the other hand, PowerGrid, NTPC, Nestle, UltraTech Cement, State Bank of India and ITC were among the laggards.

“The domestic market exhibited cautiousness in anticipation of the release of various economic data and the upcoming Q4 earnings season. The IT sector drove the optimism in the market as investors await the earnings releases of sector majors.

“Despite expectations of a cooling down of CPI inflation to below the RBI’s upper tolerance level, the persistence of sticky core inflation remains a concern,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

In the broader market, the BSE midcap gauge climbed 0.57 per cent and smallcap index gained 0.41 per cent.

Among sectoral indices, healthcare jumped 2.22 per cent, IT (1.04 per cent), auto (0.88 per cent), teck (0.86 per cent), consumer discretionary (0.74 per cent) and metal (0.51 per cent).

FMCG, utilities, capital goods and oil & gas were the laggards.

“FMCG, PSU Bank and Realty stocks witnessed profit booking and closed in the red. Strong business updates (export data) from Divi’s and Laurus led to a rally in the pharma sector. The expectation of healthy Q4 FY23 earning season and FIIs being net buyers to the tune of Rs 2,800 crore in month-till-date, helped domestic indices to gain strength,” said Siddhartha Khemka, Head – Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Japan and Shanghai ended in the green, while Hong Kong settled lower.

Equity markets in Europe were also trading with gains during the afternoon trade. The US markets ended mostly lower in overnight trade on Tuesday.

The rupee closed 3 paise higher at 82.09 (provisional) against the US dollar on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.35 per cent to USD 85.91 per barrel.

Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) further bought equities worth Rs 342.84 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.

“Investors keenly await crucial inflation data from the US and India, along with FOMC meeting minutes to get further cues. IT companies would react to TCS results that will be announced on Wednesday post-market closing,” said Khemka.