New Delhi, 23 February (HS): The domestic stock market closed higher on the first trading day of the week, supported by sustained buying across key sectors. The Sensex ended 0.58 per cent higher, while the Nifty gained 0.55 per cent at the close of trade.
The market opened in positive territory and surged sharply within the first 15 minutes of trading. However, profit booking during the session trimmed gains before indices recovered in late trade to close firmly in the green.
During the day, PSU Bank, pharmaceutical and infrastructure stocks witnessed sustained buying. Indices related to oil and gas, FMCG, automobile, capital goods and public sector enterprises also ended higher. On the other hand, IT, technology, metal and consumer durable stocks faced selling pressure. In the broader market, the Nifty Midcap index declined 0.40 per cent, while the Smallcap index rose 0.30 per cent.
Investor wealth rose by nearly Rs 1.96 lakh crore during the session. The total market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies increased to Rs 469.07 lakh crore (provisional) from Rs 467.11 lakh crore on the previous trading day.
On the BSE, 4,497 stocks were actively traded, of which 1,926 advanced, 2,389 declined and 182 remained unchanged. On the NSE, 2,942 stocks were traded, with 1,361 advancing and 1,581 declining. Among the Sensex constituents, 19 shares closed higher and 11 ended lower, while in the Nifty pack, 34 stocks gained and 16 declined.
The Sensex opened at 82,906.83 and surged to an intra-day high of 83,486.15 before witnessing profit booking. It later recovered and closed at 83,294.66, up 479.95 points. The Nifty opened at 25,678.40, touched a high of 25,771.45 during early trade, slipped to 25,609.35 in the afternoon, and finally settled at 25,713, up 141.75 points.
Among the top gainers were Adani Ports, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, HDFC Life and Nestle. The major losers included Hindalco Industries, Infosys, Wipro, Tech Mahindra and Cipla.
---------------
Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
