New Delhi, 09 November (H.S.): After witnessing considerable volatility throughout the trading session, the domestic equity market managed to close in positive territory on Monday, the first trading day of the week. Encouraged by a recovery in US technology stocks, Indian markets opened on a firm note. However, profit-booking soon emerged at higher levels, wiping out the initial gains and pushing both benchmark indices into negative territory.
The market subsequently witnessed renewed buying at lower levels. Strong gains in heavyweight stocks from the public sector banking, pharmaceutical and infrastructure sectors helped the Sensex and Nifty recover their entire intraday losses and finish the session higher. At the close of trading, the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex had gained 0.13 per cent, while the National Stock Exchange (NSE) Nifty advanced 0.23 per cent.
The Sensex opened at 81,327.29, registering a strong rise of 327.89 points, or 0.40 per cent. However, selling pressure intensified soon after the opening bell, dragging the index down by 480.09 points, or 0.59 per cent, to its intraday low of 80,519.31.
The market sentiment subsequently improved as investors stepped up buying in heavyweight banking and infrastructure stocks. Supported by a strong buying surge during the final trading session, the Sensex recovered 587.34 points from its day's low and eventually settled at 81,106.65, gaining 107.25 points, or 0.13 per cent.
The Nifty followed a similar trajectory. The index began its regular trading session at 25,076.40, up 90 points, or 0.36 per cent. However, selling pressure and panic-driven transactions soon erased its opening gains, taking it down by 147.65 points to an intraday low of 24,838.75.
Buying interest subsequently returned, with broad-based short-covering and institutional purchases supporting the recovery. The Nifty climbed 205.90 points from its intraday low to close at 25,044.65, gaining 58.25 points, or 0.23 per cent.
On the sectoral front, public sector banking stocks emerged as the biggest gainers of the day. The Nifty PSU Bank index surged 3.73 per cent, registering the strongest sectoral performance. Healthcare and pharmaceutical stocks also attracted significant buying interest, with the Nifty Pharma index rising 1.65 per cent and the Nifty Bank index advancing 1.51 per cent. The automobile index also managed to end in positive territory, gaining 0.30 per cent.
In contrast, information technology and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) stocks remained under sustained selling pressure. The Nifty IT index declined 1.22 per cent, while the Nifty FMCG index slipped 0.15 per cent.
The broader market also maintained a positive bias. Supported by buying activity, the Nifty Midcap 100 index closed 0.55 per cent higher, while the Smallcap index ended the session with a gain of 0.10 per cent.
Market breadth, however, remained mixed. A total of 4,679 stocks witnessed active trading on the BSE. Of these, 2,010 advanced, 2,422 declined and 247 remained unchanged. On the NSE, 3,289 stocks were actively traded, with 1,431 ending in positive territory and 1,858 closing lower.
Among the 30 Sensex constituents, 11 stocks advanced, 18 declined and one remained unchanged. Similarly, of the 50 Nifty constituents, 20 closed higher, 29 ended lower and one remained unchanged.
In the list of top gainers on the NSE, Apollo Hospitals led the advances, rising 1.42 per cent to close at Rs. 8,549.50. Other heavyweight stocks that featured prominently among the gainers included State Bank of India (SBI), ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Larsen & Toubro (L&T).
On the losing side, Infosys emerged as the biggest laggard among the major stocks, closing at Rs. 1,153.90 amid sustained selling pressure despite the broader market's recovery. Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Finance, ITC and HCL Technologies also witnessed weakness and featured among the top five losers.
---------------
Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
