Taking Stock: Market rebounds; Nifty above 23,400, Sensex up 299 pts; metals, realty lead

As per the latest business developments, Indian equity indices rebounded on September 23, with the Nifty reclaiming the 23,400-mark, led by broad-based buying across sectors, barring IT stocks.

Despite mixed global cues, the market opened elevated and extended upside through the session, supported by buying in metal, realty and FMCG stocks.

The continued slide in crude prices for a sixth straight session additionally aided sentiment, while selling pressure in IT stocks capped the upside.

At close, the Sensex was up 299.17 points or 0.40 percent at 74,828.25, and the Nifty was up 117.80 points or 0.50 percent at 23,446.80.

Broader markets snapped a two-day losing streak, with the Nifty Midcap 100 and Smallcap 100 indices rising 0.7% and 0.9%, respectively.

Biggest Nifty gainers were Tata Steel, Bajaj Finance, Hindalco Industries, JSW Steel, Apollo Hospitals, while losers included Coal India, HCL Technologies, Titan Firm, TCS and Infosys.

Metals led sectoral upside, surging 2.4 percent, while Telecom, PSU banks, realty and FMCG rose more than 1 percent each. IT declined 0.8 percent and media eased 0.5 percent.

More than 170 stocks touched 52-week high, including Inventurus Knowledge Solutions, Welspun Corp, Shyam Metalics, Welspun Living, RBL Bank, Redington, among others. Click to View More

Among individual stocks, Prime Focus shares declined over 6% after Brahma AI boosted $150 million through an equity issuance, while Optiemus Infracom rallied 17% as around 15.85 lakh shares changed hands in block deals.

Bajaj Finance and L&T Finance advanced 2-3% after UBS upgraded Bajaj Finance to ‘Neutral’ and L&T Finance to ‘Buy’. Texmaco Infrastructure rose 7% after 1.28 crore shares changed hands in a block deal.

Persistent Systems eased 2.5% after acquiring a 61.15% stake in Nagarro SE, while Allcargo Terminals advanced 8% after August volumes rose 6%, and 360 ONE WAM advanced more than 3% after Aashish Agarwal was appointed CEO.

Hero Motors ended 17% elevated at ₹98.50 after a muted stock-exchange debut at ₹82 on the NSE, a 2.38% discount to its IPO price of ₹84 per share.

SS Retail surged 80.87% to ₹767 after making a firm debut, stock-exchange debut at a premium of over 50% to its IPO price of ₹124 on the BSE.

Jindal Supreme advanced 81% to ₹128 after stock-exchange debut at ₹120, a premium of more than 29% over its IPO price of ₹93 per share.

The Indian indian rupee snapped its five-day gaining streak, ending 15 paise softer at 95.74 per dollar on Wednesday, compared with Tuesday’s close of 95.59. Outlook for September 24

Shrikant Chouhan, Head Equity Research, Kotak Securities

Today, the key market indices witnessed narrow range activity. The Nifty ends 118 points elevated, while the Sensex was up by 299 points. Among sectors, the metal index was the top gainer, rallying 2.40 percent, whereas Media indices shed nearly 1 percent .

Technically, after a positive open, the entire day saw narrow range activity. In addition, on daily charts, it has formed a small bullish candle, and on intraday, it is holding a range-bound formation.

We believe that the current market texture is non-directional; perhaps traders are waiting for either side breakout. On the elevated side, 23,500/75000 stays the crucial resistance zone. Above 23,500/75000, the market could move up to 23,600-23,650/75800-76000. On the flip side, below 23,300/74400, selling pressure may accelerate. Below this level, the market could slip to 23,200-23,150/74000-73800.

Sudeep Shah, Vice President – Technical & Derivatives Research at SBI Securities

On Wednesday, the benchmark index Nifty 50 opened on a mildly positive note and continued to trade elevated throughout the session, indicating sustained buying traction. The index continued its pullback from softer marks and closed 0.50% elevated. Nifty has recovered nearly 325 points during the past five trading sessions, highlighting sustained buying interest at softer marks. On the daily chart, the index formed a bullish candle with a minor upper wick, indicating that buyers remained active through most of the session.

From a technical perspective, the daily RSI is hovering near the 40 mark after recovering from softer marks, indicating a gradual improvement in momentum. In the meantime, the MACD line is flattening at softer marks, suggesting that selling momentum is losing resilience during the ongoing recovery. That stated, Nifty keeps trade below its 20-day and 50-day EMAs, keeping the broader structure wary. A sustained breakout above these key moving averages would be required for confirmation of a meaningful trend reversal.

Going forward, the 23300–23270 zone could act as a crucial backing area. A sustained breach below 23270 could trigger fresh selling pressure towards 23150 marks. On the upside, 23600–23620 is likely to act as an immediate resistance zone. A sustained move above 23620 could trigger potential short covering and extend the pullback towards 23750 marks.