Markets Climb Into Positive Territory at Midday; Sensex up 256 pts as Metal, FMCG Stocks Lead

Mumbai, May 13: Stock markets recovered a part of their losses around noon on Wednesday. Sensex was trading up 256.37 points or 0.34% at 74,815.61, while Nifty 50 rose 90.65 points or 0.39% to 23,470.20 as of noon. Metals, FMCG, consumer durables, and banking stocks were leading the rally with IT and auto stocks continuing to face selling pressure.

Markets opened mildly positive at 9: 21 am with Sensex up 71.81 points or 0.10% at 74,631.05 and Nifty 50 trading at 23,382.90 on Wednesday, barely changed from the previous day’s close. Markets were subdued at the open despite positive cues from Washington and Beijing on Hormuz overnight as investors did not want to chase prices higher, underlining extreme nervousness in the market.

The recovery was broad-based, with metal, FMCG, consumer durables, and banking stocks leading the charge, while IT and auto counters remained under mild selling pressure. The session’s positive tone marked a meaningful shift in sentiment from the opening bell when high volatility was seen.

At noon, Sensex breached the 250-point gain mark while Nifty crossed the 23,470 psychological resistance level, indicating that the relief rally is broadening rather than consolidating into a few stocks.

Gainers

Asian Paints surged 4.77% at ₹2,624.90 from its previous close of ₹2,505.50, Hindalco rose 3.18% at ₹1,074.50 from ₹1,041.40, Adani Enterprises gained 3.02% at ₹2,477.80 from ₹2,405.20, BEL advanced 2.30% at ₹426.10 from ₹416.50, while Adani Ports jumped 2.19% at ₹1,725.10 from ₹1,688.20.

Laggards

Eicher Motors slumped -2.51% at ₹6,947 from ₹7,126, Power Grid declined 2.02% at ₹300.10 from ₹306.30, M&M shed 1.32% at ₹3,134 from ₹3,176, Bajaj Auto dropped 0.97% at ₹10,296.50 from ₹10,397, and NTPC fell 0.95% at ₹388.95 from ₹392.70.

Broader Markets

Nifty Midcap 100 rallied the most in the broader markets with a gain of 1.17% to 60,400.90 at noon, followed by Nifty Next 50 index up 1.05% to 69,305.80 and Nifty Midcap Select rose 1.10% to 14,126.30 while the Nifty 50 traded higher by 0.50%.

Sectoral Indices

Sectorally, Nifty Metal was the top performer advancing 2.69% to 13,227.65 at noon, followed by Nifty Consumer Durables up 1.36% to 35,105.65, Nifty FMCG rising 0.90% to 50,905.85, and Nifty Bank advancing 0.73% to 53,944.95, while Nifty IT traded lower by -0.30% and Nifty Auto slipped 0.46%.

Middle East Conflict

Geo-political developments improved marginally on Wednesday after US and China managed to agree on at least one thing. Both countries have said that no country or organisation can be allowed to charge tolls to any other country to pass through international waters like Strait of Hormuz. The agreement came ahead of President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping scheduled high-profile summit later this week.

Oil Prices

US oil prices declined on Wednesday after rising in the last three sessions. Brent crude futures slipped 82 cents or 0.76% to $106.95 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude oil was down 66 cents or 0.65% at $101.52 a barrel. Oil prices remain elevated near the psychologically important $100 mark despite the recent pullback as investors were pausing ahead of Trump-Xi summit later this week and progress on Hormuz ceasefire.

Asian & US Markets

Benchmark indices in Asian markets were mixed by noon. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.81% to 63,249.62, Thailand’s SET index surged 2.08% to 1,514.35, Shanghai’s Composite index gained 0.52% to 4,236.22, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down 0.13% at 26,314.47 and Australia’s ASX All Ordinaries index fell 0.32% to 8,880.70, highlighting the divergent response to the US-China Hormuz signal across Asia. Wall Street ended mixed on Tuesday with Dow Jones Industrial Average inching up 0.11%, NYSE Composite adding 0.19%, while Nasdaq fell 0.71% and S&P 500 shed 0.16%.

Source:

• https://www.nseindia.com/market-data/top-gainers-losers
• https://www.nseindia.com/market-data/live-market-indices
• https://www.bseindia.com/sensex/code/16