Sensex, Nifty End With Modest Gains; Financials Underperform:
The Indian equity markets closed with modest gains today, with the benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty posting positive but restrained performances. Despite the upward trend, financial stocks lagged behind, dragging down overall market sentiment.
Indian shares ended Tuesday's session modestly higher despite mixed cues from global markets and another round of attack by opposition Congress against SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband.
The benchmark S&P/BSE Sensex rose 361.75 points, or 0.44 percent, to 81,921.29 while the broader NSE Nifty index closed at 25,041.10, up 104.70 points, or 0.42 percent, from its previous close.
Divis Laboratories jumped 5.2 percent to extend recent gains while Wipro, Bharti Airtel, NTPC and LTIMindtree climbed 2-3 percent.
Vodafone Idea rallied 2.5 percent after official data showed Kumar Mangalam Birla and Pilani Investment bought 1.86 crore and 30 lakh shares of the company, respectively on September 6.
Ahluwalia Contracts jumped 3.5 percent and HG Infra Engineering soared 7.2 percent on winning new contracts.
Century Textiles & Industries advanced 5.4 percent after it acquired ownership rights for its leasehold land parcel in Worli, Mumbai.
Financials came under heavy selling pressure, with HDFC Life plummeting 4.4 percent while Bajaj Finance, Bajaj FinServ, Shriram Finance and SBI Life dropped 1-2 percent.
Cues from Asia and Europe were mixed ahead of the televised U.S. presidential debate later today and U.S. inflation readings due later in the week that could influence expectations for the interest rate outlook.
Oil prices fell over 1 percent in European trade as worries about Chinese demand along with expectations of existing oil oversupply overshadowed supply disruptions from Tropical Storm Francine.
Global Market Influence:
Global market trends played a significant role in influencing Indian markets today. Positive signals from U.S. markets and easing inflation concerns provided some relief to domestic investors. However, concerns about rising global interest rates and economic slowdown in key markets like Europe and China continued to create a mixed sentiment.
Outlook:
While the Indian equity market ended with modest gains, the underperformance of the financial sector remains a concern. Analysts believe that the markets could remain range-bound in the near term, with investors awaiting key economic data releases and the Reserve Bank of India’s upcoming policy decisions. The focus will also remain on global economic developments, particularly the performance of the U.S. economy and potential interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve, which could impact liquidity and market sentiment globally.
Conclusion:
Sensex and Nifty managed to end the day in positive territory, but the drag from financials kept gains modest. With a volatile financial sector and global uncertainties, the near-term market outlook remains cautious, even as other sectors like technology and autos show resilience. Investors will be closely watching domestic and global economic indicators to gauge future market movements.