Adani Enterprises, RBI policy takes Nifty above 17,850, Sensex leaps 378pts

CLOSING BELL: Adani Enterprises surged 23 per cent, while Adani Ports zoomed 9 per cent, leading the winners' list on the Nifty50

 CLOSING BELL

Stock market highlights: Equity markets snapped their two-day losing streak, despite a relatively hawkish policy statement by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), as a rebound in information technology, metal, and Adani group stocks supported benchmarks. The S&P BSE Sensex zoomed 378 points, or 0.63 per cent, to close at 60,664 levels. The Nifty50, meanwhile, closed at 17,872, ralling 150 points or 0.85 per cent.

The indices hit their respective intra-day highs of 60,792, and 17,898.70.

The Reserve Bank of India's Monetary Policy Committee has raised the repo rate by 25 basis points to 6.50 per cent in order to bring inflation back towards the central bank's 4 per cent target, said governor Shaktikanta Das on Wednesday. The MPC also retained its stance of withdrawal of accommodation to ensure that inflation remains on target, Das said. READ MORE

On the frontline indices, Adani Enterprises surged 23 per cent as it led the winners' list on the Nifty50. Adani Ports (up 9 per cent), Bajaj Finance, HDFC Life, SBI Life, JSW Steel, Ultratech Cement, Infosys, Hindalco, Reliance Industries, Bajaj Finserv, Divis Labs, Cipla, Apollo Hospitals, TCS, HCL Tech, Wipro, and Grasim were other notable gainers. 

L&T, Hero MotoCorp, Eicher Motors, Airtel, Axis Bank, and HUL, however, fell up to 1.56 per cent, thereby creating pressure on the upside. 

Sectorally, the Nifty Metal index jumped 4 per cent, followed by the Nifty IT index (1.5 per cent), and the Nifty Pharma index (1.43 per cent). The Nifty FMCG and Realty indices dipped wee bit in red. 

Meanwhile, in the broader markets, the BSE MidCap index added 1 per cent, and the BSE SmallCap index gained 0.76 per cent. 

Individually, shares of beaten down new-age internet companies, including Paytm, Zomato, and Policybazaar, rallied up to 10 per cent on Wednesday, supported by heavy volumes, on expectation of improvement in financial performance. READ MORE

Shares of cement manufacturers were trading higher by up to 3 per cent on the BSE in Wednesday’s intra-day trade after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said that the government will consider a review of the 28 per cent Goods and Services Tax (GST) levied on cement. READ MORE

4:13 PM

Bank Nifty:: Exhibits range-bound trade after RBI move; Needs to surpass 42,000 hurdle

"The BANK NIFTY index witnessed a range-bound trading session post the RBI policy outcome. The index faces stiff resistance at 42,000 where the highest open interest is built up on the call side. The index needs to break this level decisively for resuming the uptrend. The undertone remains bullish and one should keep a buy-on-dip approach with immediate support at the 41,300 level."

 

- Kunal Shah, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities

 

4:09 PM

COMMENT:: Bulls took charge as RBI delivered in line with market expectations

"Bulls took charge of the markets as the RBI’s MPC meeting delivered a smaller rate hike in line with market expectations. RBI has taken a more optimistic view on domestic growth by increasing the GDP forecast while cautiously keeping CPI inflation at 5.3% for FY24. Meanwhile, global markets traded with hopes as investors digested Powell’s speech, which stated that disinflation had begun but pointed towards the possibility of further rate hikes in response to a stronger job market."

 

- Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services
 

4:07 PM

New-age stocks in focus: Paytm soars 15%; Policybazaar, Zomato, Nykaa also rally

Shares of beaten down new-age internet companies rallied up to 10 per cent on Wednesday, supported by heavy volumes, on expectation of improvement in financial performance. READ MORE

4:05 PM

Bharti Airtel slips despite over 91% YoY surge in December net

Airtel continues to report a healthy performance on Indian wireless business front with resilient and industry leading KPIs in terms of India post-paid/4G subscribers, ARPUs and margins. READ MORE

4:02 PM

Adani Enterprises zooms over 100% in three days

Shares of Adani Enterprises rallied over 20 per cent to Rs 2,221 in Wednesday's trade, and have more-than-doubled from its intra-day low of Rs 1,017.10 touched on Friday February 3. READ MORE

4:00 PM

Wonderla Holidays surges 10%, nears 52-week high on strong Q3 results

The management said the significant boost in the number of visitors was due to the increase in domestic tourism, walk-in customers and the revival of student excursion trips. READ MORE

3:58 PM

Cement shares rally on hopes of GST cut; UltraTech gains 2.5%

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said that the government will consider a review of the 28 per cent Goods and Services Tax (GST) levied on cement. READ MORE

3:53 PM

Market Breadth was positive; 1,996 stocks advanced v/s 1,490 declined

3:51 PM

Nifty Healthcare index up 1.5%; Aurobindo Pharma, Lupin, Biocon shine

3:50 PM

Nifty IT index gains 1.5%; LTTS, LTIMindtree rally up to 3%

3:48 PM

Nifty Metal index surges 3.8%; Adani Ent, Jindal Steel top gainers

3:46 PM

BSE Smallcap Heatmap:: PGIL, Kriti Inds zoom 20%; Barbeque Nation down 5%

3:44 PM

BSE Midcap Heatmap:: PolicyBazaar, Aurobindo Pharma soar over 6%

3:42 PM

Broader markets also finish with prominent gains

3:40 PM

Nifty 50:: Larsen & Toubro, Eicher Motors, Airtel top losers chart