The equity benchmark indices BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty ended near the flatline on Tuesday (July 30) but managed to post record closing highs, driven by strong performances in the broader market and select sectors.
The Sensex rose by 100 points to close at 24,856, while the Nifty added 21 points, finishing at 4,857. Despite an intra-day recovery, the Nifty failed to sustain the momentum and ended below the 24,900 mark.
The Midcap Index continued its outperformance, closing at a record high of 58,623, with a gain of 261 points. Similarly, the Nifty Bank index rose by 93 points to settle at 51,499.
From the Sensex basket, NTPC, Tata Motors, Power Grid Corporation of India, Asian Paints, Titan Company and Bajaj Finserv were the major gainers. Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, ITC, Bharti Airtel, Hindustan Unilever, UltraTech Cement and Mahindra & Mahindra were the biggest laggards.
Tata Motors emerged as the top Nifty gainer, surging 4% to hit a record high. However, financial stocks faced pressure in the last hour of trading, with Kotak Mahindra Bank and ICICI Bank both falling 1% from their highs.
Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) such as BPCL, HPCL, and IOC continued their upward trend, with stocks rising 3-4%. NTPC reversed its previous day’s losses, climbing 4% to a record high on the back of strong Q1 results.
Colgate Palmolive rose over 5% after reporting robust Q1 earnings. Ajanta Pharma also saw a gain of more than 5% due to healthy quarterly results. Power Grid surged 4% following positive management commentary post-Q1 results.
The pharmaceutical sector struggled, with Cipla and Sun Pharma among the top Nifty losers. Suzlon marked its seventh consecutive session of gains, hitting a 5% upper circuit post-strong Q1 results. City gas companies MGL and IGL rose up to 3% each, whereas Exide fell 3% following its earnings announcement.
Sanjiv Goenka’s bullish outlook for PCBL led to an 11% surge in its stock. Granules saw a 4% rise after reporting a nearly 200% jump in Q1 net profit. Ahead of its Q1 earnings, Dixon Technologies ended more than 3% higher.
Apar Industries and Force Motors both experienced significant gains, rising up to 10% each post-Q1 results. ideaForge plummeted 11% after reporting a 90% drop in Q1 profit and a sharp contraction in gross margins.
The market breadth favoured advances, with an advance-decline ratio of 3:2, and the market cap of BSE-listed companies reached a record high, crossing the $5.5 trillion mark for the first time.
On Monday, the 30-share BSE Sensex closed higher by 23.12 points or 0.03% at 81,355.84, its all-time closing high. The NSE Nifty ended marginally up 1.25 points or 0.01% at an all-time closing high of 24,836.10. During the day, it surged 164.9 points or 0.66% to hit a fresh lifetime peak of 24,999.75.
