The Sensex and the Nifty 50 ended marginally higher on Wednesday, May 13, snapping a four-session losing streak amid selective buying in heavyweight stocks after the recent correction.
The Sensex closed 50 points, or 0.07 percent, higher at 74,608.98, while the Nifty 50 gained 33 points, or 0.14 percent, to settle at 23,412.60.
Broader markets outperformed the benchmarks. The Midcap index advanced 0.71 percent, while the Smallcap index rose 0.27 percent.
The overall market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies climbed to nearly ₹459 lakh-crore from ₹456 lakh-crore in the previous session, adding about ₹3 lakh-crore to investor wealth in a single day.
Market sentiment improved on value buying after the recent sell-off, which had dragged both the Sensex and Nifty down by nearly 4 percent over the past four sessions. A decline in crude oil prices also supported sentiment, although a sharp fall in the rupee limited gains.
The rupee weakened to a record closing low of 95.71 against the US dollar on Wednesday. Brent crude oil prices slipped nearly 1 percent to around $107 per barrel.
Vinod Nair of Geojit Investments said the indices ended largely flat with a cautious undertone, while broader markets gained on dip buying and short covering in mid and small-cap stocks.
Among Nifty 50 stocks, Asian Paints, Adani Enterprises and Tata Steel were the top gainers, while Eicher Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra and Infosys were among the major losers.
Sectorally, the Nifty Metal index surged 3.18 percent. Consumer Durables and Oil & Gas indices rose 1.67 percent and 1.28 percent respectively. On the other hand, Nifty IT declined 1.13 percent and the Auto index fell 1 percent. Bank Nifty slipped 0.18 percent.
According to Sudeep Shah of SBI Securities, Nifty has immediate support in the 23,270-23,250 range. A sustained move below this zone could extend weakness towards 23,100 and 22,950 in the near term. He sees immediate resistance in the 23,530-23,550 zone.
Hariprasad K of Livelong Wealth said 23,300 remains the immediate support level for Nifty, followed by 23,100, while the 23,000 mark continues to be a crucial demand zone.
He added that 23,500 has emerged as the immediate resistance, while 23,800 remains a major hurdle due to high call option open interest concentration.
Hariprasad also cautioned that momentum indicators continue to show weakness, with the Relative Strength Index (RSI) hovering near the 40 mark on the daily charts, suggesting that the short-term trend remains weak unless stronger upside momentum emerges.
(By arrangement with livemint.com)