The Nifty 50 stood at 24,198.15 at 1.01 PM on Wednesday, 176.50 points or 0.73 per cent higher, just short of the 24,200 line that traders had been watching. The Sensex was at 77,557.81, up 566.59 points or 0.74 per cent.
Car makers and healthcare names pulled the indices up. Energy and metal shares went the other way. Crude hovered near $69-70 per barrel, which wiped out most of what oil had gained during the recent West Asia conflict, and the rupee firmed to around ₹94.3 against the dollar. Strong earnings guidance from US chipmaker Micron Technology had also lifted global risk appetite.
Winners and losers on the Nifty
Maruti Suzuki led the board, jumping 4.91 per cent to ₹13,898 from a previous close of ₹13,248. Its intraday high was ₹13,917. Max Healthcare rose 4.65 per cent to ₹1,132 after closing the prior session at ₹1,081.70, and touched ₹1,139.80 at the peak.
IndiGo added 4.41 per cent to ₹5,436.70, against ₹5,207.20 the day before. Mahindra & Mahindra gained 4.15 per cent to ₹3,191.60. Shriram Finance put on 2.34 per cent to ₹1,042.85.
ONGC slid 2.19 per cent to ₹234.75 from ₹240. Coal India lost 2.16 per cent to ₹432.20. Hindalco fell 1.88 per cent to ₹958.20, down from ₹976.60. Titan shed 1.31 per cent to ₹4,267.20, and Tech Mahindra dropped 1.29 per cent to ₹1,442.80.
Oil and metals
MCX Crude Oil opened with a gap down below ₹6,600, and US oil kept trading under $70. Developments around the Strait of Hormuz after the initial US-Iran accord are still feeding into energy prices, and tankers leaving the waterway have eased earlier supply worries.
Precious metals stayed weak. COMEX Gold traded below $4,000 per ounce and COMEX Silver sat near $57, a slide tied to a stronger dollar. MCX Gold held above ₹1,40,000, while MCX Silver tried to steady around ₹2,14,000 to ₹2,14,500 after a sharp drop from its recent highs.
Breadth
Of 4,246 stocks traded on the BSE, 1,753 rose, 2,285 fell and 208 were unchanged. A total of 134 hit 52-week highs and 43 hit 52-week lows. There were 167 stocks at upper circuits and 154 at lower circuits.
Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, said: “A sustained breakout above 24,200 would reinforce bullish momentum and could pave the way for a move towards 24,400, followed by 24,600.” Support at 24,000 is the level to watch going into the last two hours of trade, he added.
