Smallcaps, Metals Stocks Lead Indices Higher as Nifty Sinks in Red 

Mumbai, April 16: Dalal Street cut a cautious profile for most of today’s trading session as markets moved sideways around the flat zone around midday. While Nifty Smallcap 250 (+0.40%) and Nifty Midcap 150 (+0.22%) were among few broad based indices in green along with index heavyweight Nifty Next 50 (+0.81%), other broader indices like Nifty 500 (+0.19%), Nifty 200 (+0.15%) and Nifty 100 (+0.15%) traded with a mild positive bias while headline index Nifty 50 traded flat with Bank Nifty down 0.13% as some large cap financials saw bouts of selling on Thursday.

Top Stocks in Nifty Smallcap 250

Best performer on Nifty Smallcap 250 index was GMDC (+16.03%), which opened at ₹628.40 and reached a high of ₹736.00 against its previous close of ₹622.30 and is currently trading at ₹722.05 (LTP). Foresight Securities Limited (FSL) gained close to 12%, opening at ₹223.00 and reaching a high of ₹254.68 against its previous close of ₹220.36 and last traded at ₹246.30 (LTP). Gallantt Metal opened at ₹811.05 and hit a high of ₹874.45, currently trading at ₹843.50 (LTP) — up 6.75% from previous close of ₹790.15. Netweb Technologies opened at ₹3,600.00 and hit a high of ₹3,780.00, currently trading at ₹3,750.20 (LTP) — up 5.23% from previous close of ₹3,563.70.

Sectoral Indices

Metal Index Outperforms IT Index and Financial Services Ex-Bank Index
Sectoral indices also told a clear story of today’s selective session as Nifty Metal (+1.36%) outperformed Nifty IT Index (+0.71%) as well as Nifty Financial Services Ex-Bank Index (+0.92%). Stocks in metal, IT and financial services excluding banks were among some of the prominent gainers among broader market stocks. Stocks that traded with green were also subject to bouts of strong buying interest from investors in stocks related to Iran or stocks that stand to benefit from growing trade relations with Iran. Stocks such as Bharat Electronics (+5.78%), Atul Auto (+5.06%), Indo Countigency Warehouses (+2.76%) and Krishlle Structrual Products (+2.42%) saw some strong buying today.

Stocks that traded with green were also subject to bouts of strong buying interest in emerging opportunities such as futures & commodities brokers (+2.03%), infrastructure (+0.81%) and alcohol distilleries (+0.55%).

On the other hand, Nifty Pharma (-0.35%), Nifty Realty (-0.37%) and Nifty PSU Bank (-0.23%) stocks underperformed broader markets today.

Top Stocks in Nifty Metal Index

Surprisingly Hindalco led the metal stocks higher by 3.09% after opening at ₹1,016.90 and hitting a high of ₹1,044.55, currently trading at ₹1,042.70 (LTP) against previous close of ₹1,011.45. Vedanta opened at ₹772.00 and hit ₹787.85, currently trading at ₹781.80 (LTP) — higher by 2.06% from previous close of ₹766.05. Hindustan Zinc traded up by 2.89% as the stock opened at ₹589.00 and hit a high of ₹602.95, currently trading at ₹597.30 (LTP) against its previous close of ₹580.50.

Top Stocks in Nifty IT Index

IT stocks traded mostly higher with Coforge leading the charge higher with gains of 2.52%. The counter opened at ₹1,299.00 and hit a high of ₹1,334.90, currently trading at ₹1,315.00 (LTP) against its previous close of ₹1,282.70. Infosys traded up marginally by 1.08% as the stock opened at ₹1,322.10 and hit a high of ₹1,331.00, currently trading at ₹1,319.40 (LTP) against previous close of ₹1,305.30. TCS opened at ₹2,572.00 and hit a high of ₹2,594.00, currently trading at ₹2,572.30 (LTP) — up 0.68% from previous close of ₹2,547.15.

Top Stocks in Nifty Financial Services Ex-Bank Index

Power Finance Corporation was today’s top performer on Financial Services Ex-Bank index after opening at ₹447.80 and hitting a high of ₹467.00, currently trading at ₹462.85 (LTP) — higher by 4.07% from previous close of ₹444.75. REC Limited traded higher by 4.52% as the stock opened at ₹355.00 and hit a high of ₹372.60, currently trading at ₹368.60 (LTP) against its previous close of ₹352.65. Stock in BSE Ltd also rose 1.27% to ₹3,433.60 after hitting a high of ₹3,459.90 during day’s trade.

Iran Peace Talks Add Further Fuel to Bearish Market Sentiment

Markets today continued to react positively to fresh hopes for a diplomatic solution to the US-Iran conflict. Stock markets across the world reacted positively to fresh signals between Iran and the US after US President Donald Trump’s economic advisor stated that US citizens believe that they will make a deal with Iran while keeping economic sanctions against Iran in place. Additionally Iranian leadership has reportedly given the US a 7-day window during which they will allow ships to travel freely through the Omani side of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran news lifted the geopolitical risk premium that has been weighing heavily on global markets. Markets today however treaded cautiously and traders will look to weigh hopes for Iran peace against possibilities for further escalation.

Nifty, Sensex Dip in Red

Elsewhere, while Sensex traded down 214.47 points or 0.27% to 77,896.77 at midday on bouts of selling seen in select blue chips, Nifty traded close to unchanged as buying emerged to support broader markets. Although it can be seen that majority of largecap stocks saw selling or traded with a flat bias at midday, traders today will likely keep a close eye on broader markets to see if this support sustains through the afternoon session or if Nifty trades further down in red as well alongside Sensex.

Source: 

• https://www.nseindia.com/market-data/live-market-indices