While indices had opened higher tracking the gains in other Asian markets, they pared almost all of those gains on likely profit booking and weak cues from European markets.
The Nifty50 index closed 32.1 points, or 0.2 per cent, higher at 14,707.8, while the BSE-Sensex ended at 49,751.4, up 7.1 points.
In the broader market, the gains were more prominent as the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 index rose 1 per cent and 0.9 per cent, respectively.
Consequently, the breadth of the market favoured bulls as advancing stocks on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) outnumbered declining ones.
Here are the major movers in today’s session:
PSU refiners surge on earnings hope
Shares of state-owned oil marketing companies rose after analysts suggested that these companies could see strong earnings in the March quarter due to improving gross refining margins and high inventory gains amid surging crude oil prices. BPCL, HPCL and IOC ended 2-3 per cent up.
ONGC surges with oil prices
Shares of Oil & Natural Gas Corp jumped 5.6 per cent today as surging global crude oil prices boosted the outlook for the state-owned oil producer. Brokerages Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs both raised their price outlook on Brent crude oil futures overnight, further aiding the rally in the stock.
Metals up as commodities hit multi-year highs
Shares of metal stocks surged for the second successive day as the Bloomberg Commodity index ripped to its highest level in eight years amid rising optimism for the global economy and concerns about inflation. Nifty Metal index climbed 3.9 per cent to its more than two-year high.
UPL swings on value buying
Shares of UPL swung 10 per cent from their day’s low to end 5 per cent higher as investors used the near 5 per cent plunge in the stock earlier in the day for bargain hunting. The stock had fallen after reports of a blast at one of the company’s fertiliser plants.
Who gave sell signal?
As many as 42 stocks listed on the NSE gave sell signal based on MACD indicators including State Bank of India, Indiabulls Housing Finance, IndusInd Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank.
What’s ahead for the market?
Positioning by traders in the options of the Nifty50 showed that they expect the index to be range-bound on Wednesday as they sold both the out-of-money call and put options. In the futures segment, however, traders added long positions in the February contract of Nifty50.
“We reiterate our cautious stance and suggest focusing more on position management during the corrective phase. Further, volatility is likely to remain high across the board,” said Ajit Mishra, vice president of research at Religare Broking.
