The Indian stock market witnessed a mixed day of trading on Thursday (March 28) as it closed in the green, but significantly retreated from the day's highs. Nifty struggled to maintain levels above 22,500 and Sensex above 74,000, which were both seen intra-day.
Monthly expiry seemed to have triggered a sharp fall in the last trading hour, causing both the Sensex and Nifty to close around 1% lower than their highs. The Sensex managed to rise by 655 points, settling at 73,651, while the Nifty gained 203 points to close at 22,327.
The Nifty Bank surged 339 points, ending the day at 47,125, and the Midcap Index added 238 points to reach 48,076. With the exception of the Nifty Media Index, all other sectors posted gains today, with the PSU and pharma sectors leading the rally. Impressively, 44 out of the 50 Nifty stocks ended the day in the green.
Bajaj Finance and Bajaj Finserv continued to build on Wednesday's gains, driven by reports of a housing finance IPO. Meanwhile, Grasim, L&T, Adani Ports, Sun Pharma, and Maruti Suzuki reached record highs.
On the other hand, Hero MotoCorp and Eicher Motors saw gains, but Bajaj Auto slipped ahead of its monthly sales data release. Shriram Finance experienced a decline, closing in the red on the first day of its inclusion in the Nifty Index.
Bank of Maharashtra saw a significant rise of more than 5% after the company appointed a new Managing Director and CEO. Aegis Logistics and PG Electro attracted buying interest following positive brokerage notes.
Astra Micro soared by 9% after securing a ₹385 crore order from BEL. Conversely, IDFC First Bank ended 3% lower after 2.6% of its equity changed hands in a block deal. The market's breadth remained neutral due to the late-hour fall, with the advance-decline ratio standing at 1:1.
In Asian markets, Shanghai and Hong Kong settled in the positive territory while Tokyo and Seoul ended lower. European markets were trading mostly in the green. Wall Street ended higher on Wednesday.
The S&P 500 climbed 0.9% to a record 5,248.49 in its first gain since setting its last all-time high on March 21. Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.42% to $86.40 a barrel.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth ₹2,170.32 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data. Equity markets would remain closed on Friday for 'Good Friday'.
First Published: Mar 28, 2024 4:18 PM IST
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