New Delhi, 05 August (H.S.): The domestic stock market surrendered most of its early gains during the second half of Wednesday’s trading session but managed to close in positive territory after a late recovery. The market opened on a strong note following a decline in international crude oil prices amid expectations of the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz in West Asia.

However, crude oil prices regained momentum after U.S. President Donald Trump warned of strict action against Iran, triggering fresh selling pressure in the domestic equity market during the second session.

Due to the pressure in the afternoon trade, both the Sensex and Nifty briefly slipped into negative territory. However, renewed buying interest towards the end of the session helped both indices recover and close in the green. At the end of the day’s trading, the Sensex gained 0.19 per cent, while the Nifty ended 0.04 per cent higher.

The BSE Sensex opened 626.43 points, or 0.80 per cent, higher at 79,055.38 points, supported by positive global cues and declining crude oil prices. Soon after the market opened, selling pressure emerged, pulling the index lower. Although buyers attempted to regain momentum through intermittent buying, the recovery remained limited.

Selling pressure intensified after 11 a.m., dragging the index down by 769.64 points from the day’s high to 78,285.74 points, a decline of 143.21 points or 0.18 per cent. During the final half-hour of trading, renewed buying helped the Sensex recover nearly 300 points from the day’s low, allowing it to close with a marginal gain of 152.05 points at 78,581 points.

Similarly, the NSE Nifty opened 54.30 points, or 0.22 per cent, higher at 24,669.20 points. The index witnessed volatility soon after opening as buyers and sellers battled for control. Supported by buying activity, the Nifty climbed 62.70 points, or 0.25 per cent, to reach 24,677.60 points.

However, during the second half of the session, selling pressure pushed the index down 179.65 points from the day’s high to 24,497.95 points, a decline of 116.95 points or 0.48 per cent. Strong buying in the last 20 minutes of trade helped the index recover more than 125 points from its intraday low, enabling it to close 9.75 points higher at 24,624.65 points.

During Wednesday’s trading session, metal and automobile stocks witnessed sustained buying interest. The Nifty Metal index ended 1.58 per cent higher, while the Auto index gained 1.27 per cent. Consumer durables, FMCG, healthcare and public sector enterprise indices also closed in positive territory.

On the other hand, stocks from the oil and gas, capital goods, IT and banking sectors faced selling pressure. In the broader market, buying remained strong, with the Nifty Midcap index closing 0.18 per cent higher and the Smallcap index gaining 0.76 per cent.

Buying interest in midcap and smallcap stocks helped increase investors’ wealth by more than ₹1 lakh crore. The market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies rose to ₹492.31 lakh crore (provisional) after Wednesday’s trade, compared with ₹491.15 lakh crore on the previous trading day, Tuesday. As a result, investors gained approximately ₹1.16 lakh crore during the session.

A total of 4,448 stocks witnessed active trading on the BSE during the day. Of these, 2,330 shares closed higher, 1,911 declined, and 207 remained unchanged. On the NSE, 3,033 stocks were actively traded, with 1,775 ending in the green and 1,258 closing with losses.

Among the 30 Sensex constituents, 12 stocks ended higher while 18 closed lower. In the Nifty 50 index, 26 stocks finished with gains, 22 declined, and two remained unchanged.

Among major stocks, Shriram Finance emerged as the top gainer, rising 3.23 per cent, followed by Grasim Industries (2.74 per cent), JSW Steel (2.31 per cent), Hindalco Industries (1.96 per cent) and NTPC (1.82 per cent).

On the losing side, TCS declined 1.91 per cent, Apollo Hospitals fell 1.55 per cent, HCL Technologies dropped 1.45 per cent, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries slipped 1.22 per cent and Jio Financial Services declined 1.15 per cent, making them the top five laggards of the day.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar