Equity benchmarks defy global cues, finish nearly 1% in the green

Equity benchmarks shrugged off lacklustre global cues to clock gains on Tuesday, buoyed by strong buying interest in index heavyweights Reliance Industries and the HDFC twins.

However, a depreciating rupee and unabated foreign fund outflows capped the gains, traders said. The 30-share BSE Sensex rallied 562.75 points or 0.94 per cent to settle at 60,655.72. The broader NSE Nifty climbed 158.45 points or 0.89 per cent to 18,053.30.

Larsen & Toubro topped the Sensex gainers chart with a jump of 3.51 per cent, followed by Hindustan Unilever, HDFC, HCL Technologies, HDFC Bank, and Reliance Industries. In contrast, SBI, Bajaj Finserv, IndusInd Bank, Wipro, Tata Steel, and Bajaj Finance were among the laggards, shedding up to 1.67 per cent.

The market breadth was in favour of the bulls, with 22 advances and 8 declines.

“The domestic market is attempting to gain, in comparison to its weak YTD performance, which was caused in anticipation of soft Q3 results and Union Budget. We started the third quarter results on a shaky note, but the latest set of financial announcements from IT and banking blue chips are encouraging.

“Heavyweights are pushing the counter... fall in windfall tax. Given the positive undercurrents, the trend should continue in the short term. However, a lot will depend on the second line of Q3 results, the Budget outcome, and the Fed policy statement,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

The Center reduced the windfall profit tax levied on domestically-produced crude oil as well as on the export of diesel and ATF, in line with softening international oil prices.

“Markets reversed Monday’s fall and gained nearly a percent amid volatility... The bulls are trying hard to cap the damage amid the prevailing consolidation phase and awaiting some trigger for further recovery.
“We feel buying in select index majors may result in some respite ahead but not enough to trigger the next directional move. We thus reiterate our view to focus on stock selection and risk management until we see some decisive signal,” said Ajit Mishra, VP — Technical Research, Religare Broking.