Stock Market Updates Highlights: Market Wrap | Sensex, Nifty End Higher Led by IT Stocks, Paper And Midcaps Shine, Banks Lag

• Market Status:

  • Sensex rose 329 points to 81,636.

  • Nifty 50 closed up 98 points at 24,968 following a range-bound session.

  • However, Nifty continues to face resistance around 25,000, testing investor sentiment at this level.

• Tech Sector Leads the Rally:

  • Four of the top five gainers in the Nifty were IT stocks—TCS, Infosys, HCL, and Wipro—as brokerages turned positive on the sector, providing solid support.

• Other Sector Movements:

  • Nifty Bank slipped 10 points to 55,139.

  • Midcap Index rose 72 points, closing at 57,702—showing stronger performance beyond the large caps.

• Key Stock Moves:

  • Hero MotoCorp and IndusInd Bank gained 1–2% despite being excluded from the Nifty 50 index.

  • Vodafone Idea extended gains from Friday, surging 5%.

  • PG Electroplast likely exits F&O ban today, jumping over 3%.

  • IRB Infrastructure and Jindal Stainless each moved up about 3% ahead of their F&O exclusion.

• Paper Sector Breakout:

  • Stocks like TNPL, Malu Paper, West Coast Paper, and JK Paper climbed 10–17% following government tightening of import norms, triggering buying interest.

• GST Hopes Lift Consumption:

  • Hopes of a GST cut ahead of the festive season helped lift consumption-focused names.

• Pressure on Capital Markets Space:

  • BSE and Angel Broking declined 2–3%, weighed down by broader sector pressures.

• Overall Market Mood:

  • Market breadth leaned negative, with an Advance–Decline Ratio of 4:5, indicating more stocks declined than advanced.

• Oil Prices Edge Up:
  In early trading today, oil prices rose slightly amid concerns of supply disruption after Ukraine’s attacks on Russian energy sites.

• • Brent crude up 0.09% at $67.79

  • WTI crude up 0.14% at $63.75

• Dollar Struggles Post-Powell Comments:
  The U.S. dollar remained weak after Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s dovish tone.

  • Dollar at $1.1699 per euro, slightly up 0.2%

  • Rose 0.1% to $1.3502 vs sterling

  • Up 0.4% to 147.46 yen

• Gold Slips Slightly:
  Gold prices dipped from a two-week high as the dollar ticked higher.

  • Spot gold down 0.2% at $3,364.25/oz

  • U.S. gold futures down 0.3% at $3,409.80

Sensex rose 219.54 points to 81,526.39, while Nifty gained 67.70 points to 24,937.80 at market open, signaling a cautious yet optimistic start for Indian equity markets today.

Asian markets are riding high after Wall Street’s strong finish, driven by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s hint at a potential rate cut in September. Early trading shows Japan’s Nikkei and South Korea’s Kospi posting solid gains, while GIFT Nifty futures signal a positive start for Indian markets.

Though U.S. futures have cooled slightly following Friday’s rally, the Dow closed at a record high with nearly a 2% gain. Powell’s remarks also raised concerns about employment risks, while traders eagerly await Nvidia’s earnings and July’s PCE inflation data.

Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury yields have fallen, with the 10-year yield sliding over 7.5 basis points to 4.25%, and the dollar weakening. Cryptocurrencies are mixed: Ether hit a fresh record, while Bitcoin gave back some of its recent gains. Gold prices rose, fueled by hopes for rate cuts, and oil prices gained as uncertainty persists over the Ukraine peace deal.

Markets are poised for a positive start on Monday, as indicated by trends in GIFT Nifty. The index showed a gain of 73.5 points, or 0.29 percent, suggesting strong opening cues for Indian equities. Nifty futures were trading around the 24,951.50 level, pointing to early bullish sentiment. Investors will be closely watching global market trends, sectoral performance, and macroeconomic cues as the trading week kicks off.

Domestic equity markets ended Friday on a weak note, snapping a six-day winning streak. The Nifty 50 closed below the 24,900 mark, dragged down by broad-based selling across most sectors, except media and pharma.

At close, the Sensex fell 693.86 points (0.85%) to 81,306.85, while the Nifty 50 dropped 213.65 points (0.85%) to settle at 24,870.10. Broader markets also witnessed pressure, with BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices ending in the red.

Despite Friday’s fall, both indices posted a weekly gain of about 1%.

Notably, M&M, Bharat Electronics, Maruti Suzuki, Bharti Airtel, and Titan were among the top Nifty gainers. On the flip side, Asian Paints, Grasim, Adani Enterprises, Hero MotoCorp, and UltraTech Cement led the losses.

Sectorally, media rose 1% and pharma gained 0.4%, while metal, IT, FMCG, and banking indices declined between 0.5% and 1%.