On Thursday, the Indian stock market faced a seesaw battle, with the Sensex and Nifty 50 starting strong, only to end the day lower. The financial and consumer durable sectors provided some support to the indices, but the construction and oil and gas sectors experienced losses, limiting market gains. The pharma sector dragged down the Nifty, with Dr Reddy's, Divi's Lab, and Apollo Hosp emerging as top losers. However, most Nifty Bank constituents ended the day higher, with ICICI, Axis, and IndusInd contributing to the gains.
Meanwhile, all Adani Group stocks closed in the green, boosting the market capitalization by Rs. 25,000 crore. Adani Enterprises is set to consider fundraising on May 13, causing the stock to surge by 5%. Asian Paints reported better-than-expected March quarter numbers, causing the stock to rise by 4%. Gujarat Gas and Siemens rose ahead of results, up by 6% and 2%, respectively.
On the other hand, Hindalco experienced profit booking following Novelis earnings, resulting in a 4% drop in the stock. L&T, DRL, and Dr Lal PathLabs ended in the red after a mixed March quarter. Kirloskar Bros hit the upper circuit, rising by 20% due to strong March quarter results. Sagar Cement and HG Infra rose more than 3% each after posting March quarter results.
Despite the volatile trading, the market breadth favored advances, with the advance-decline ratio at 1:1. On the whole, BSE companies gained a market capitalization of more than Rs. 30,000 crore on Thursday. Investors are eagerly anticipating further financial results from India Inc for domestic cues, with Eicher Motors, Deepak Nitrite, GSPL, and Siemens due to post their earnings later in the day.