Sensex, Nifty ends higher for 4th day; RIL, Infy, Airtel rise; Wipro, TCS fall ahead of Q3
The Indian share market continued its gaining streak for the fourth straight session on Wednesday, following firm cues overnight from Wall Street, and strong earnings expectations from IT heavyweights TCS, Wipro and Infosys. The strong gain in index heavyweights such as Reliance Industries, Infosys, ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel, and M&M also supported the market. The IT stocks remained in focus as sectoral leaders TCS, Wipro and Infosys are slated to release their December quarter earnings reports today post market hours.
The BSE Sensex closed 533 points, or 0.88%, higher at 61,150, while the NSE Nifty surged 156 points, or 0.87%, to end at 18,212. During the day’s trade, Sensex gained as much as 1% to hit an intraday high of 61,218.19, while the Nifty50 rallied 172 points to hit a high of 18,228.
In line with the benchmark indices, the broader markets also ended on stronger note. The S&P BSE Midcap index closed 1.08% higher, while the S&P BSE Smallcap index soared 0.7%.
The overall market breadth on the BSE was positive, with 1,998 shares advancing out of total 3,818 traded stocks. Out of the total shares, 1,702 shares declined and 118 were unchanged.
On the sectoral front, power and realty were among top performers whereas consumer durables and healthcare settled with marginal losses. The BSE Power index emerged as the top gainer by rising 2.21%, led by Adani Group companies – Adani Power, Adani Green Energy, and Adani Transmission – along with Tata Power Company and Siemens. The power sector was followed by the BSE Realty index, which ended 1.84% higher. The top gainers in realty space were Oberoi Realty, Brigade Enterprises, Sobha, Prestige Estates Projects, and DLF.
Top gainers and losers
The top gainer on the BSE Sensex pack was auto major Mahindra & Mahindra, which ended 4.68% higher. Some of the other notable gainers included Bharti Airtel, Reliance Industries, IndusInd Bank, and ICICI Bank, which rose between 1.7% to 3.8%.
On the losing side, IT major Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) emerged as top loser by falling 1.5% as investors turned cautious ahead of the December quarter earnings slated to be released later today. The other top laggards include Titan Company, HDFC Bank, Tech Mahindra, and Wipro.
Newsmakers
Vodafone Idea: Shares of telecom major rebounded 9% today after falling 21% in the previous session amid spurt in volume trade. The stock price surged after the company's chief executive officer said that the government does not intend to run the company or appoint a board member.
Federal Bank: Shares of private sector lender ended 2% higher after it received approval from its board of directors to raise up to ₹700 crore by issuing bonds on a private placement basis. The board has approved the issuance of unsecured Basel-III tier-II subordinate bonds in the nature of debentures, amounting up to ₹700 on a private placement basis, it said in a regulatory filing.
Goldiam International: Shares of the jewelry company rallied 12% on a stock split plan. The company in an exchange filing said its board will meet on February 8 to consider the proposal for a split of its equity shares of face value of ₹10 each.
Adani Green: Shares of billionaire Gautam Adani-led company rose 4.5%, extending rally for the second session. The stock traded higher for the ninth consecutive session, and has surged 27% during the period.
Steel Exchange India (SEIL): Shares of the company ended 5% higher after the foreign portfolio investor purchased 5 million equity shares of the company via open market transaction. The stock of the company has rallied 107% in the last one month.
DLF: Shares of realty major closed 1.9% higher on robust sales growth. The real estate company has notched sales worth ₹1,500 crore for towers in the first phase of the newly launched luxury residential project, ONE Midtown.
RITES: Shares of railway company closed 2.2% higher after it signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with SMEC Group to cooperate and explore infrastructure projects.
Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra): Share price of TTML hit 5% lower circuit today after the company decided to convert interest related to adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues of ₹850 crore into equity.
Global market follow Wall Street higher
Overseas, shares in the Asia-Pacific region, as well as European stocks, traded higher on Wednesday, following a strong finish at Wall Street overnight. Traders also kept an eye on the U.S. inflation data slated to be released later tonight.
Asian shares ended higher on Wednesday, following firm cues from Wall Street. Investors cheered U.S. Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell’s comment which eased concerns about rising U.S. inflation.
The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong emerged as the biggest gainer in the regional market by rising 2.8%.
Hong Kong’ Hang Seng was followed by Japan’s Nikkei 225 index, which ended 1.9% higher. South Korea’s KOSPI also gained 1.54%, while China’s Shanghai Composite climbed 0.84%.
In a similar trend, Australia’s ASX 200 index rose 0.66%, the Straits Times Index in Singapore climbed 0.27%, and Taiwan Weighted Index jumped 0.5%. Thailand’s SET Composite settled higher with 0.68% gains.
Bucking the trend, Indonesia’s Jakarta Composite ended flat with marginal loss.
Meanwhile, European stocks extended gain for the second straight session on Wednesday, with most of the markets trading higher in early deals. Germany’s DAX rose 0.4%, France’s CAC surged 0.58%, and Spain’s IBEX index gained 0.25%. In a similar trend, the UK’s FTSE 100 index jumped 0.74%, while Italy’s FTSE MIB index traded 0.35% higher in early deals.
In the overnight trade, all three major U.S. indices ended higher as investors reacted positively to comments from Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell even though they indicate interest rates are poised to rise this year to tame inflation. The tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite was the best performer with a 1.4% gain, followed by the broader S&P 500, which rose 0.9%. The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.5%.