Indian equity benchmarks traded sharply higher in noon deals on Wednesday, driven by easing crude oil prices, encouraging remarks from the RBI Governor on the interest rate outlook and inflation trajectory, and strong buying interest in heavyweight banking and financial stocks. According to reports from LiveMint, the Nifty 50 rose 0.95% to 24,048.85, while the BSE Sensex added 1.27% to 77,165.31 as of 14:12 IST. However, the broader market remained subdued despite the rally in benchmark indices, with the Nifty Smallcap 100 index declining 0.26% and the Nifty Midcap 100 index slipping 0.01%.
Post forming a higher bottom around the 23,000 mark, Nifty 50 has seen an upmove with a broader market participation in the last three weeks. As reported by LiveMint, the index has been consolidating for the last seven sessions between its 20 and 100 DEMA, with the 20 DEMA support around 23,780 and 100 DEMA resistance around 24,200. A breakout above 24,200 will lead to a resumption of the positive momentum, with the index potentially rallying up to 24,500. Among sectoral indices, banking, financial services, cement and information technology stocks led the gains, with financial heavyweights providing the biggest support to the headline indices.
Ruchit Jain, Head - Equity Technical Research, Wealth Management at Motilal Oswal Financial Services, recommends AXIS Bank Ltd as a buy for the near term. According to the analysis reported by LiveMint, the Private Banks are witnessing a positive trend, and within this space, Axis Bank has broken out of consolidation, hinting at a continuation of the uptrend. Traders can buy the stock around the current market price of ₹1,375 with a stop-loss below ₹1,340, targeting around ₹1,440 in the near term.
Genus Power Infrastructures Ltd is another stock recommended by Jain for short-term investment. As reported by LiveMint, the stock has broken out of its consolidation phase with high volume, with prices having formed a base above the 50 DEMA support during the consolidation phase. Traders can buy the stock in the range of ₹340-344 with a stop-loss below ₹328, targeting around ₹372 in the near term. The breakout with high volume indicates a positive trend for the infrastructure company.
Market breadth remained marginally negative despite the benchmark gains, with out of 3,231 stocks traded on the NSE, 1,519 advanced, 1,612 declined, while 100 stocks remained unchanged. According to LiveMint, the gains in frontline lenders helped counter concerns about further US Federal Reserve rate hikes and below-normal monsoon rainfall. The strong performance in banking and financial services sectors provided the biggest support to the headline indices, with these sectors leading the broader market rally.
