Sensex ends 107 points higher after touching a new high in intra-day trade

• Sensex ended 107 points higher while Nifty50 closed 6 points higher at 18,409 on Wednesday.
• In the last one month, Sensex and Nifty50 rallied over 6%, thanks to FII inflows.
• Bank stocks like Kotak Mahindra Bank and HDFC Bank were among the top gainers on November 16.
• Both the indices touched new all-time highs during intraday trading.

Indian benchmark indices ended marginally higher on Wednesday, tracking mixed cues from the global markets. Sensex ended 107 points higher at 61,980 while Nifty50 closed six points higher at 18,409. Both the indices touched new all-time highs during intraday trading.

In the last one month, Sensex and Nifty50 have rallied over 6%, thanks to FII inflows.

“Markets moved in a narrow range with bouts of sideways movement in intra-day trades, but selective buying in late trades helped key indices to end in positive territory. The lacklustre trend was visible across the Asian and European markets, which prompted local traders to trade cautiously. After last week's spectacular rally, investors are in no hurry to lap up stocks despite some tailwinds in the domestic economy,” said Shrikant Chouhan, head of equity research (retail) at Kotak Securities.

Some losses were pared in the global as well as domestic markets after US President Joe Biden’s comments on a blast in Poland raised hopes that the US Fed will go slow on hiking interest rates.

“Global stocks pared losses on Wednesday after US President Joe Biden told G7 and NATO partners that a missile blast in Poland was caused by a Ukrainian defence missile, dispelling fears that it originated from Russia. This put an end to the geopolitical uncertainties. Expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates at a slower pace helped temper losses,” said Deepak Jasani, head of retail research at HDFC Securities.

Banking stocks like Kotak Mahindra Bank and HDFC Bank were among winners on the index on November 16. TCS, HDFC Bank, SBI, Wipro and Bajaj Finance were the most active stocks on the bourses today.

Source: BSE

Overall, foreign institutional investors (FII) pulled out ₹386 crore while domestic institutional investors (DII) ploughed in ₹1,437 crore, according to provisional data from BSE.

Meanwhile some analysts say that index heavyweights and mid cap space look attractive in a lackluster market.

“The recent move in the index lacks decisiveness and shows an early sign of exhaustion too; however we recommend following the trend until it reverses. We’re seeing select heavyweights and midcap counters attracting buying interest while the rest are either trading in a range or witnessing pressure. We feel it’s prudent to restrict positions and focus on overnight risk management,” said Ajit Mishra, VP - research at Religare Broking.

Sectorally, metal, media, auto, realty, oil & gas were among laggards on the exchanges while bank, financial services and IT were among top winners.

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