Dalal St Back In Black On Rate Cut Hopes

Mumbai: Indian stock markets ended Wednesday’s session on a strong note, supported by gains in metal, real estate and technology shares. Among the key highlights was the continued strength in domestic defence stocks, which have been gaining momentum for three straight sessions. The sector remained resilient and showed consistent buying interest from investors.

Despite some volatility during the day, investor sentiment remained positive, helping benchmark indices close in the green.At the closing bell, the Sensex was up by 182 points or 0.22 per cent, settling at 81,330.56.Similarly, the Nifty rose by 88 points, or 0.36 per cent, to end the day at 24,666. In Nifty, key option levels show 25,000 and 25,500 as major call resistances, while 24,000 and 24,500 serve as put supports, said experts. The market capitalisation (mcap) of BSE-listed companies rose Rs3.79 lakh crore to Rs4,34,89,864.58 cr (Rs434.89 lakh cr or $5.10 trn).

The put-call ratio (PCR) of 0.72 suggests a mildly bearish bias, according to Sundar Kewat from Ashika Institutional Equity.

“Global cues also offered support, as softer-than-expected US consumer inflation data eased concerns over inflationary pressures and lifted hopes that the Federal Reserve may adopt a more accommodative stance going forward. With domestic and global factors aligning favourably, market experts believe that investor confidence is likely to stay strong in the near term. The retreat in crude oil prices and the overall softening of the greenback acted as tailwinds, specifically supporting the local currency during intra-day’s trading,” said Dilip Parmar of HDFC Securities.