Markets end marginally higher as heavy sell-off in IT counters spoil sentiment
While Oil & Gas, consumer durables, metal and automobile stocks recorded strong gains, IT stocks faced sharp selling pressure, tracking weakness in global technology shares
Mumbai:Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty closed slightly higher on Wednesday as gains in major stocks like ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries, and Eternal were partly negated by a sharp correction in IT shares due to weak global cues. Investors turned cautious as profit booking emerged on select counters after the recent relief rally amid renewed optimism about the India-US trade deal, traders said.
After swinging between gains and losses throughout the session, the 30-share BSE Sensex ended 78.56 points or 0.09 per cent higher at 83,817.69. During the day, it touched a high of 83,947.53 and a low of 83,119.95, gyrating about 827.58 points. A total of 2,726 stocks advanced, while 1,477 declined and 163 remained unchanged on the BSE. The 50-share NSE Nifty went up by 48.45 points or 0.19 per cent to settle at 25,776.
“Sentiment stayed cautious amid mixed global cues and some profit-booking following the recent relief rally. Weakness in global technology stocks weighed on domestic IT counters, leading to sectoral divergence. “At the same time, optimism surrounding the India-US trade agreement and expectations of improved foreign participation continued to support cyclical stocks and select heavyweight names,” Ajit Mishra, SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd, said.
From the Sensex firms, Eternal, Trent, NTPC, Adani Ports, Power Grid, Maruti, Reliance Industries and ICICI Bank were the biggest gainers. Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, HCL Tech and Tech Mahindra were the biggest laggards, declining as much as 7 per cent.
IT shares witnessed a sharp correction due to weakness in global technology stocks, as investors became cautious over concerns of overvaluation, which dented market sentiment, according to traders. Among sectoral indices, IT tumbled 5.49 per cent, and the BSE Focused IT tanked 5.06 per cent.
On the other hand, Utilities climbed 2.72 per cent, oil & gas (2.37 per cent), consumer durables (2.36 per cent), power (2.18 per cent), energy (1.91 per cent), consumer discretionary (1.56 per cent) and metal (1.27 per cent).
“While Oil & Gas, consumer durables, metal and automobile stocks recorded strong gains, IT stocks faced sharp selling pressure, tracking weakness in global technology shares. “Sentiment in the sector deteriorated after AI startup Anthropic unveiled an end-to-end workflow automation productivity tool, rekindling concerns that rapid advances in AI could disrupt traditional software business models and weigh on industry-wide profitability,” Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth tech firm, said.
