Sensex Surges 740 pts, Nifty Rises 220 pts, As IT Leads Gains

Mumbai, July 29: Indian equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty started sharply higher on Wednesday, after Tuesday’s largely flat close, as IT stocks extended their optimism from the previous session expecting the US central bank to leave rates unchanged later in the day. The Sensex advanced 739.56 points or 0.96 per cent to 77,505.48 and the Nifty 50 gained 219.90 points or 0.92 per cent to 24,205.25 as of 09:52 am. The gainers come after both indices closed largely unchanged on Tuesday with IT stocks seeing strong buying through heavy selling in many other heavyweight sectors on the expiry day. Indian markets opened sharply higher today amid US-Iran tensions as Iranian missiles struck US bases in Iraq. There were fresh strikes by the US and Saudi Arabia on Iran-backed militants in Iraq.

Gainers & Losers  

On the Nifty 50 index, Larsen & Toubro (LT) was the top performer with gains of 3.73 per cent to an LTP of Rs 3,974.80 from a previous close of Rs 3,832, followed by Infosys (INFY) with a 3.51 per cent gain to Rs 1,144.50 against a previous close of Rs 1,105.70. Hindustan Unilever (HINDUNILVR) increased by 2.93 per cent to Rs 2,082 from Rs 2,022.70, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) rose 2.79 per cent to Rs 2,465 versus a previous close of Rs 2,398, and Wipro (WIPRO) gained 2.02 per cent to Rs 184.77 from Rs 181.12.  

On the flip side, Bharat Electronics (BEL) was the top loser on Nifty 50 declining 0.89 per cent to Rs 385.55 from a previous close of Rs 389, followed by InterGlobe Aviation (INDIGO) slipping 0.80 per cent to Rs 5,228.50 against Rs 5,270.50. Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (ADANIPORTS) dropped 0.59 per cent to Rs 1,764.30 from Rs 1,774.70, Axis Bank (AXISBANK) eased 0.49 per cent to Rs 1,217.50 versus a previous close of Rs 1,223.50, and Titan Company (TITAN) declined by 0.41 per cent to Rs 4,830 from Rs 4,849.70.  

Broad Market & Sectoral Indices  

The broad markets indices traded in a very uniform manner today with gains ranging from 0.46 per cent to 0.94 per cent across major broad market indices. The gainers were led by Nifty 50, Nifty 100 and Nifty Midcap Select higher by 0.94 per cent, 0.85 per cent and 0.84 per cent respectively; among the losers, Nifty Next 50 higher by a comparatively low 0.46 per cent, Nifty Microcap 250 up 0.50 per cent and Nifty Smallcap 50 adding 0.61 per cent were the smallest gainers. In other words, no broad market index traded in the red. Sectorally, Nifty IT jumped 2.68 per cent to lead all sectoral indices higher, followed by Nifty FMCG up 1.47 per cent and Nifty Metal adding 1.31 per cent. Nifty Realty was the biggest sectoral loser declining 0.56 per cent, followed by Nifty CPSE dipping 0.14 per cent and Nifty Energy losing 0.08 per cent.  

Oil Prices  

Oil prices rose by more than two dollars a barrel on Wednesday on shrinking US crude inventories. Brent futures traded 3.2 per cent higher at 86.80 dollars a barrel and US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude jumped 3.4 per cent to 81.95 dollars a barrel. US crude stockpiles decreased by about 3.3 million barrels for the week ended July 24, the American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated on Tuesday. Gasoline and distillate inventories grew during the period. Oil prices slipped nearly 5 per cent on Tuesday before reversing higher on expectations that OPEC+ will pause output increases for three months from October.  

Middle East Conflict 

US forces in the Middle East had “successfully intercepted” multiple ballistic missiles launched by Iran early on Wednesday, the Pentagon said, calling the Iranian attack an “attempted surprise attack”. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards later said the missiles fired targeted a US air base in Iraq and another facility run by the US Central Command in Jordan in retaliation for earlier US strikes on Iranian forces. Iran carried out the strikes despite Washington claiming “good talks” were underway with Tehran to resolve the crisis, President Donald Trump said. The US responded to the Iranian missile strikes along with Saudi Arabia with air strikes of their own on Iranian-backed militant groups operating in eastern Iraq which it says were responsible for attacks on American forces and Saudi energy facilities. Tehran has warned Washington and its proxies to stop attacks against Iran.  

Asian Markets  

Asian markets were mixed to higher in Wednesday morning trade with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rising by over 1.6 per cent leading the region. Australia’s All Ordinaries and Malaysia’s KLCI also traded higher, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 and Thailand’s SET index declined on the day. China’s Shanghai Composite ended little changed rounding off a mixed but mostly positive session across Asian markets. Pakakistan’s KSE 100 and Indonesia’s Jakarta Composite also saw declines.  

US Markets  

US markets finished mostly higher on Tuesday led by the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumping over 1 per cent to close at 52,747.32. The S&P 500 edged up 0.21 per cent to 7,428.78 and the NYSE Composite added 0.54 per cent while Canada’s S&P/TSX Composite also climbed. Nasdaq Composite was the lone loser among major indices dipping 0.22 per cent to close at 24,876.91.  

Closing Of Indian Markets, Tuesday  

The Sensex ended flat on Tuesday led by a strong recovery in Nifty IT as US President Donald Trump’s comment on ‘good talks’ underway with Iran raised hopes for a de-escalation in geopolitical tensions between Washington and Tehran. The Sensex eased up by 69.86 points or 0.09 per cent to close at 76,765.92 and the Nifty 50 index declined by 10.60 points or 0.04 per cent to settle at 23,985.35. Market breadth remained weak with 1,539 shares advancing against 2543 decliners and 155 unchanged. Despite weak breadth strong buying in IT stocks helped Sensex recover losses while Nifty Metal plunged due to profit booking.  

Sources

• BSE
• NSE