Sensex, Nifty50 end a tad higher ahead of F&O expiry – Paytm hits a new 52-week low

Rounak Jain and Bhakti MakwanaNov 23, 2022, 18:10 IST

The 30-stock Sensex closed 92 points higher at 61,511 while the Nifty50 ended the day 23 points up at 18,267.
Investors are awaiting the US Federal Reserve’s meeting minutes due today that will provide signals to other central banks, say market experts.
Apollo Hospitals, JSW Steel, SBI, HDFC Life, and Bajaj Finance were the top gainers on the Nifty50 index.
On the BSE, there were more advances than declines – 1,854 stocks gained while 1,643 stocks ended the day in the red.

Indian benchmark indices Nifty50 and Sensex closed higher on Wednesday, albeit with marginal gains, ahead of the monthly expiry of the F&O segment on Thursday. PSU banks, oil & gas, and metals pushed the benchmark indices higher.

The 30-stock Sensex closed 92 points higher at 61,511 while the Nifty50 ended the day 23 points up at 18,267. The PSU banks index continued on its upward trajectory with gains of 1.02%, while the Nifty Media index gained the most today with an increase of 1.14%. Banks, financial services, and pharma were other notable gainers today.

Asian markets also closed in the green with Japan’s Nikkei 225 closing up 0.61%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng going up 0.57% and China’s Shanghai SE Composite Index closing 0.26% higher.

Meanwhile, all eyes were on the US Federal Reserve’s meeting minutes due today that will provide signals to other central banks. The US Fed has so far raised interest rates six times, totaling 375 basis points.

“Interestingly, FII purchases in the last several weeks have lifted the sentiment as well in the cash market. The Nifty VIX closed at 14.04, and we anticipate that Nifty will remain more range-bound over the next few days. The trend of unexpected surprises in inflation figures persisted, but the market once again adopted the adage ‘bad news is good news’,” said a report by Choice Broking.

Foreign portfolio investors have been on a buying spree in the financial services sector, pouring in ₹11,452 crore in the first fortnight of November.

Brent crude oil prices continued to edge up, gaining 0.57% to hover around $88.2 per barrel.

The Rupee fell 18 paise to close at 81.85 against the US dollar.

Apollo Hospitals, JSW Steel, SBI, HDFC Life, and Bajaj Finance were the top gainers on the Nifty50 index.

Here are the top gainers and losers in the Nifty500 index on Wednesday

Shares of companies like Tarsons Products, Venus Pipes, Ethos and Go Fashion will be in focus in the coming sessions as their pre-IPO lock-in period expires in the next few days.

“Globally, Investors would keenly wait for Fed’s minutes that are due to be released on Thursday which will set the tone for the US Federal Reserve’s meeting in December. Domestic markets might see some action on the back of F&O monthly expiry and macro data to be released globally,” said Siddhartha Khemka, head - retail research at Motilal Oswal Financial Services.

On the BSE, there were more advances than declines – 1,854 stocks gained while 1,643 stocks ended the day in the red. Meanwhile, 111 stocks hit their 52-week high while 70 dropped to their 52-week low.

Paytm hits a fresh 52-week low
Paytm shares hit a fresh 52-week low of ₹438.35 before closing the day at ₹452.4 with a decline of 5.12%. Overall, Paytm’s shares are down 79% from the issue price of ₹ 2,150.

This comes a day after Paytm’s shares clocked a decline of over 11%. A new report by Macquarie Research states that Jio Financial Services could prove to be a challenge for Paytm, apart from Bajaj Finance.

In October, Reliance Industries announced its intent to demerge its financial services business and name it Jio Financial Services, and subsequently list it on the stock exchanges.

Foreign institutional investors (FII) were net sellers yet again on Wednesday, pulling out ₹790 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DII) were net buyers, with an investment of ₹414 crore.

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Sensex, Nifty50 end a tad higher ahead of F&O expiry – Paytm hits a new 52-week low