On Wednesday, the Indian stock market was a rollercoaster ride with volatile trading. The Sensex and Nifty 50 started on a high note but soon dipped into the red. However, the last hour of trading saw a sharp recovery, and both indices closed with minor gains. The Sensex rose 179 points to 61,940, while the Nifty 50 gained 49 points to 18,315.
The Nifty Bank saw a significant recovery in the last hour, rising nearly 150 points to 43,331, while the midcap index gained 17 points to 32,505. Despite the gains in the financial sector, PSU banks remained under pressure due to talks about ECL provisioning, with the index down by 1%.
Dr Reddy's Laboratories and Larsen & Toubro were among the companies that were due to post their earnings later in the day. Dr Reddy's, however, was among the top Nifty 50 losers ahead of earnings. On the other hand, IndusInd Bank was the top Nifty gainer on a brokerage upgrade, with the stock up nearly 3%.
Maruti continued its gaining streak for the 11th consecutive session, recording its longest gaining streak ever. However, Aarti Industries slid 9% as brokerages downgraded the stock on a muted outlook. Rain Industries also fell more than 4% following weak Q4 earnings, while Escorts Kubota saw profit booking after earnings, with the stock 3% off highs.
UPL extended its losing streak, with a 5% drop in two sessions. Meanwhile, Bosch ended with gains ahead of results, and city gas companies recovered sharply from lows to close higher. The market breadth was neutral, with the advance-decline ratio at 1:1.
Overall, financial and oil and gas shares supported the headline indices, while IT and chemical shares ended in the red. The BSE companies gained a market cap of nearly 35,000 crore on Wednesday. Investors eagerly await more financial results from India Inc for domestic cues.