For 10th straight day Nifty makes gains, though modest

 The Nifty 50 reached a new all-time high of 25,129.60 on Wednesday,  even as the index traded with modest gains throughout the session, continuing a trend seen in recent days.

This marked the index's 10th straight day of gains. However, the index has seen tepid gains during this period. It surpassed a 1 percent increase on just one occasion, with gains below 0.30 percent on seven of the ten days. Over the last 10 consecutive sessions of gains, the Nifty 50 has climbed 3.8 percent, averaging a daily increase of about 0.40 percent.

`Market in a consolidation phase'

Analysts say the Indian stock market is in a consolidation phase with low volatility, which could continue soon. Given the stretched market valuation, this consolidation is healthy.

With the market having largely priced in the Fed's expected 25 bps rate cut in September, it now lacks fresh catalysts to maintain and extend gains. Additionally, geopolitical tensions, oil price volatility, and high valuations continue to pose challenges.

On Wednesday, the benchmark indices clocked slim gains amid mixed global cues as the US 10-year bond yields eased further and crude oil prices fell over a percent.

The Nifty 50 closed 0.14 percent up at 25,052.35, while the Sensex ended with a gain of 0.09 percent at 81,785.56.

Mid and smallcap segments witnessed selling pressure. The Nifty Midcap 150 index fell 0.14 percent, while the Nifty Smallcap 250 index declined 0.22 percent.

Top gainers and losers 

29 stocks closed with losses in the Nifty 50 index, out of which, shares of Maruti (down 1.34 percent), Asian Paints (down 1.33 percent), and Adani Enterprises (down 1.27 percent) closed as the top losers.

Shares of LTIMindtree (up 6.31 percent), Wipro (up 3.71 percent), and Divi's Laboratories (up 2.71 percent) closed as the top gainers in the index.

Among the sectoral indices, Nifty IT (up 1.64 percent) and Pharma (up 1.14 percent) ended with solid gains even though most closed with losses.

Bank Nifty fell 0.26 percent, while the PSU Bank index and the Private Bank index declined 0.45 percent and 0.14 percent, respectively.

"A consolidation in the US 10-year bond yield and an inflow of FIIs kept the domestic market sentiment optimistic. However, valuation remains a near-term deterrent, which will be further tested based on the upcoming India Q1 FY25 GDP data this week. On the other hand, investors are giving more emphasis to defensive bets, which is evident with the outperformance in IT and pharma stocks," said Vinod Nair of Geojit Financial Services.

350 stocks travel north

Over 350 stocks, including Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Bharti Airtel, Sun Pharma, Bajaj Auto, Divi's Labs, IndiGo, and Trent, hit fresh 52-week highs in intraday trade on the BSE.

According to Jatin Gedia of Sharekhan by BNP Paribas, the Nifty 50 formed a Doji candle, indicating indecisiveness and consolidation.

"The up-move can continue, and in case of a dip, 24,920–24,850, where the key hourly moving averages are placed, are likely to act as a crucial support zone. On the upside, 25,200–25,250 is the immediate hurdle zone," said Mr Gedia.

                                                      (By arrangement with livemint.com)