MUMBAI — Indian benchmark equity indexes erased their intraday losses Wednesday and ended modestly higher after a sharp recovery in the final hour of trading, helped by gains in oil and gas and auto stocks.
The Nifty closed at 23,659, up 41 points, or 0.17%. During the session, the index touched an intraday high of 23,690.90 and a low of 23,397.30.
The Sensex ended near the day’s high at 75,318.39, gaining 117.54 points, or 0.16%. The 30-share index had dropped to an intraday low of 74,529.41 before recovering strongly and touching a high of 75,406.18.
Market analysts said fresh supply pressure emerged near higher levels, making the 23,700 to 23,800 range an important near-term resistance zone for the Nifty.
“A sustained breakout above 23,800 could strengthen momentum further toward the psychological 24,000 mark,” an analyst said.
“On the downside, the 23,400 level now acts as an important immediate support zone, while the broader 23,300 region continues to remain a crucial support base for the index,” a market expert said.
Hindalco Industries and Bajaj Auto were among the top gainers on the Nifty and helped support the broader market recovery.
Broader market indexes also ended higher. The Nifty MidCap rose 0.49%, while the Nifty SmallCap gained 0.04%.
Among sectors, Nifty Oil and Gas and Nifty Auto outperformed the broader market, supported by buying in energy and automobile stocks. Nifty Media and Nifty FMCG were among the top laggards.
Despite weak sentiment earlier in the day, late buying in heavyweight stocks helped the benchmark indexes close in positive territory, signaling resilience in domestic equities.
“Markets are now awaiting the US Fed’s April policy minutes for further direction on the interest rate outlook. Overall, the broader trend remains range-bound with a negative bias, with sector and stock specific opportunities likely to dominate,” an analyst said. (Source: IANS)
