Market Wrap Podcast, Oct 26: Here's all that happened in the markets today

The key benchmark indices gyrated between zones in trade on Tuesday before firming-up in the latter half of the trading session taking cues from the broader markets.

By close, the BSE Sensex was at 61,350, up 383 points. It had hit an intra-day high and low of 61,498 and 60,791, respectively. It's NSE counterpart, Nifty50, meanwhile settled with a gain of 143 points at 18,268. It moved in a range of 211 points, between 18,310 and 18,099.

Tata Steel was the top gainer in the Sensex 30 pack, up over 4 per cent at Rs 1,348, followed by Titan (up 3.7 per cent). Asian Paints, Bajaj Finance, Nestle India Tech Mahindra, Kotak Bank and Reliance Industries gained between 2.5 per cent and 3 per cent. 

On the other hand, IndusInd Bank slipped nearly 2 per cent, followed by ICICI Bank and PowerGrid Corporation.

The broader markets were finally back to their winning ways and outperformed the benchmark indices by a wide margin. The BSE Midcap index gained 1.8 per cent, while the Smallcap index rallied 2.2 per cent.

Sectorally, all the indices, barring the Nifty Private Bank, ended in the positive zone. The BSE Realty index surged 3.4 per cent, followed by a near 3-per cent gain in the BSE Consumer Durables and Metal indices. 

Reacting to September quarter results, which were announced post market hours on Monday, shares of Tech Mahindra hit a new high at Rs 1,629.40 after they rallied 7 per cent on the BSE in today's intra-day trade after the company's revenue increased 7.2 per cent quarter on quarter (QoQ) in constant currency (CC) terms and 6.4 per cent in dollar terms.

The stock surpassed its previous high of Rs 1,575.95, touched on October 20, 2021. In the past three months, the stock has outperformed the market by surging 45 per cent, as compared to a 16 per cent rise in the S&P BSE Sensex.

On the flipside, shares of CEAT slipped 10 per cent to Rs 1,165, hitting a nine-month low on the BSE in Tuesday’s intraday trade, after the firm reported 77 per cent year-on-year decline in consolidated net profit at Rs 42 crore in Q2FY22, due to the higher depreciation and interest cost. The shares, however, recouped the loss and ended 1 per cent higher on the BSE.

That apart, shares of Canara Bank plunged nearly 5 per cent to Rs 191 on the BSE in the intra-day trade after the bank's loan book growth missed Street expectations in Q2. Earlier today, the lender reported a credit expansion of 5.4 per cent YoY as against Street expectations of up to 9 per cent growth. Overall, its NII and net profit came in at Rs 6,274 crore and Rs 1,332.6 crore, respectively.

Separately, shares of Bank of Baroda and Punjab National Bank hit fresh 52-week highs, each regaining Rs 50,000 market capitalisation on Tuesday on the back of a stable outlook. 

Meanwhile, in a fresh development at Zee Entertainment Enterprises, the company has called off its Board meeting due to lack of quorum. The meeting was due tomorrow to consider the financial results for the September quarter. 

The shares of the company, however, ended over 3 per cent higher on the BSE after the Bombay High Court on Tuesday granted an injunction in favour of ZEE in its dispute against Invesco Developing Markets Fund and OFI Global China Fund LLC, giving the TV network respite in its boardroom fight with the company’s shareholders. 

Lastly, among key triggers for Wednesday, volatility could be high as investors will prepare for the monthly F&O expiry, due on Thursday. That apart, stock-specific action amid corporate results will continue to dominate the trend.

Over 100 companies are set to announce their Q2 results today including ITC, IndusInd Bank, L&T, Maruti Suzuki, and Titan.

Globally, crude oil prices, movement in the US bond yields, and FII activity will sway the indices.