Stock market today: Nifty 50, Sensex hit fresh all-time highs

Sensex hit and closed above the 74,000 mark for the first time as it rose to a fresh all-time high of 74,151.27 while the Nifty 50 hit its record high of 22,497.20 during the session.

Finally, the Nifty 50 closed at 22,474.05, up 118 points, or 0.53 per cent, while the Sensex settled at 74,085.99, up 409 points, or 0.55 per cent. Thus, both indices settled at their fresh closing peaks.

However, the mid and smallcap segments witnessed significant selling pressure. While the BSE Midcap index fell over 2 per cent the Smallcap index tanked nearly 3 per cent in intraday trade.

Eventually, the BSE Midcap index ended with a loss of 0.65 per cent while the Smallcap index closed 1.91 per cent down.

Experts are of the view that the underperformance of the smallcap segment is likely to continue since smallcap valuations remain rich.

Smallcap index has fallen more than the Sensex in recent times due to the segment’s rich valuations. Moreover, market participants have turned cautious about the smallcap space as mutual fund schemes have started to restrict inflows into the smallcap funds and market regulator SEBI has asked the mutual fund industry to be more vigilant in small, midcap schemes to protect investors’ interest.

Also Read: BSE Smallcap falls 2%; what should be your strategy for smallcap segment?

Even though the market benchmarks closed higher, the overall market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms dropped to nearly ₹391.4 lakh crore from nearly ₹393 lakh crore in the previous session, making investors poorer by about ₹1.6 lakh crore in a single session, thanks to strong losses in the mid and smallcap segments.

Nearly 100 stocks, including IIFL Finance, Atul, KRBL, SBI Cards and Payment Services, Sumitomo Chemical India, Timken India and Zee Entertainment Enterprises, hit their fresh 52-week lows in intraday trade on BSE.

Investors now await Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s congressional testimony scheduled for later Wednesday as they hope to gain insight into when the US central bank might begin reducing interest rates. While recent economic indicators have sparked optimism that rate cuts could start as early as June, there are also concerns that the Fed may not rush into such a decision.

According to Reuters, Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said on Monday that “the US Federal Reserve is under no urgent pressure to cut interest rates given a prospering economy and job market”.

Top Nifty 50 gainers today

As many as 35 stocks ended in the green in the Nifty 50 index among which Bajaj Auto (up 3.43 per cent), Kotak Mahindra Bank (up 2.56 per cent) and Bharti Airtel (up 2.37 per cent) closed as the top gainers.

Top Nifty 50 losers today

Shares of Adani Enterprises (down 2.18 per cent), NTPC (down 1.88 per cent) and UltraTech Cement (down 1.83 per cent) closed as the top losers in the Nifty 50 index.

Sectoral indices today

Nifty Bank closed with a healthy gain of 0.81 per cent. Nifty Private Bank (up 0.87 per cent), Healthcare (up 0.84 per cent) and IT (up 0.77 per cent) also clocked significant gains.

Among the laggards, Nifty Media fell 2.54 per cent, Nifty Realty 1.34 per cent, Nifty Oil & Gas 1.03 per cent and Nifty Metal 0.52 per cent.

Expert’s views on markets

“Global markets witnessed mixed signals ahead of the US Fed chair’s testimony to Congress. While it’s widely expected that the Fed chair may downplay the urgency for rate hikes, the possibility of hints regarding a potential rate cut trajectory cannot be dismissed. Investors are banking on recent FOMC minutes, suggesting the policy rate may have peaked and higher rates could hinder growth,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.

“The domestic market exhibited a smart recovery in the second half, reversing initial losses as buying picked up in large-cap stocks. Nevertheless, the broader index continued to underperform with probit booking in mid and smallcaps reflecting worries about stretched valuations,” Nair said.

Technical views on markets

Shrikant Chouhan, Head – Equity Research at Kotak Securities observed that after the early morning correction, the market took support near 22,250/73,350 and reversed sharply. It also formed a long bullish candle on daily charts, which supported a further uptrend from the current levels.

“For the trend-following traders now, 22,350/73,700 would act as a key support level to watch out. Above the same, the market could continue the positive momentum till 22,575-22,600/74,400-74,500. On the flip side, below 22,350/73,700, traders may prefer to exit from the trading long positions,” said Chouhan.

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Disclaimer: The views and recommendations above are those of individual analysts, experts and broking companies, not of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decisions.

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Published: 06 Mar 2024, 02:51 PM IST