A man looks at a screen across a road displaying the Sensex on the facade of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) building in Mumbai. (File photo/Reuters)
Markets will likely see a volatile session on Wednesday as the monthly F&O expiry for January derivatives contracts will keep investors occupied.
Sensex Today: Benchmark indices started on a tepid note on Wednesday. It will likely be a volatile session on the bourses on Wednesday as the monthly F&O expiry for January derivatives contracts will keep investors occupied.
The S&P BSE Sensex was hovering around 60,825 levels in early deals, down 153 points or 0.25 per cent.
The Nifty50, on the other hand, was at 18,073, down 46 points or 0.25 per cent. Tata Motors, Maruti Suzuki, Cipla, Bajaj Auto, Hero MotoCorp, and M&M were the top 50-pack gainers, while Adani Enterprises, HCL Tech, Adani Ports, L&T, IndusInd Bank, Infosys, and Tech M remained top laggards.
In the broader markets, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices dropped 0.3 per cent and 0.14 per cent, respectively.
Dr. VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, said: “The 18200 Nifty has become a major resistance level which is keeping the Nifty iAn the narrow band of 17800-18200. Now, it appears that a major trigger is necessary to break this range either on the upside or the downside. Two major events of February 1st – the Union Budget and the Fed decision on interest rates – have the potential to break this narrow range. A good budget and positive commentary from the Fed can break the upper band. On the contrary, any negative budget proposal like raising the rate of Long Term Capital Gains Tax or a worse-than-expected hawkish Fed can break the lower end of the range. Let’s wait for the actual result.”
Maruti Suzuki gained 1 after the auto major on Tuesday reported a 129.7 per cent YoY surge in consolidated net profit for Q3FY23 to Rs 2,391 crore, primarily due to price hikes, better demand for its top-end models, and declining raw material costs.
TVS Motor Company shares, too, climbed 3% after the company posted a 28 per cent YoY rise in net profit for Q3FY23 at Rs 303.60 crore from Rs 236.56 crore in Q3FY22.
Coffee Day Enterprises, on the flipside, shed 2 after Sebi imposed a penalty of Rs 26 crore on the company for alleged violation of securities laws.
Global cues
Asian equities extended their winning run to scale their highest levels in seven months on Wednesday, with South Korean stocks leading the way, and the Australian dollar hit multi-month highs as surging inflation made higher interest rates more likely.
The S&P 500 ended nominally lower on Tuesday at the close of a rocky session marked by a raft of mixed earnings and a technical malfunction at the opening bell.
Crude oil prices rebounded on Wednesday as demand recovery hopes in top importer China following its exit from COVID-19 pandemic curbs provided support after prices dropped in the previous session on concerns about global economic growth. Brent crude futures gained 59 cents, or 0.7%, to $86.72 per barrel by 0214 GMT after falling 2.3% in the previous session. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 46 cents, or 0.6%, to $80.59 per barrel, having dropped 1.8% on Tuesday.
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