Stock market today: Sensex ends 620.73 points higher, Nifty 50 closes above 23,850; RIL, Bharti Airtel shine; M&M shed

Stock market today: The domestic benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty 50 closed in green on Wednesday's trading session led by heavyweights Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), Bharti Airtel Ltd, UltraTech Cement Ltd, ICICI Bank. The media, oil and gas, and banking stocks dominated the market today.

The 30-share BSE Sensex ended higher by 620.73 points or 0.80% at 78,674.25 level while the Nifty 50 closed at 23,868.80 level, up 147.50 points or 0.62%.

On the broader market front, the Nifty Midcap 100 closed 0.22% lower, while the Nifty SmallCap 100 ended up 0.25%. 

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RIL share price on Wednesday's session jumped over 4% to touch a 52-week high. According to technical analysts, this heavyweight stock has experienced strong positive momentum in today's session, significantly contributing to the benchmark index's rise. 

“We are observing a price and volume breakout in this stock, and in the near term, it may move towards the 3,250–3,300 levels. Traders are advised to maintain a positive outlook and use any dips as opportunities to go long. Immediate support is at 2,980,” said an analyst. 

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Amidst profit taking, Sensex and the Nifty 50, reached fresh highs during Wednesday's choppy trading session. Nifty 50 touched record high, crossing earlier level of 23,754.2, while Sensex rose 134.64 points to hit a new all-time high of 78,188.16 in early trade. Nifty Bank touched record high during the session, and crossed earlier level of 52,746.5.

“The Merry Run continues as key indices mark a fresh new high. Technically, any small dip is getting bought into reflecting the strong uptrend. Continue with the approach of buying on dip going ahead,” said Rajesh Bhosale, Equity Technical and Derivative Analyst at Angel One.

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Despite starting flat, the benchmark Sensex and Nifty 50 indices turned positive. The equity markets in Asia ended higher on Wednesday. 

“Even though markets have reached all-time highs once again, it is time to be cautious. The FII buy levels have risen to a state that prompts for being careful. Also, the risk to reward on the long side at 23,800 does not warrant creating fresh longs and warrants booking profits,” said Rahul Ghose, CEO of Hedged.in

As per an AP news report, on Wednesday, equities gained ground in Europe and Asia subsequent to Nvidia's recovery offsetting Wall Street's decline.

The Paris CAC 40 was up 0.1% at 7,672.76, whereas Germany's DAX jumped 0.8% to 18,482.00. The FTSE 100 in London increased by 0.5% to 8,291.45. Japan's Nikkei gained 1.3% to 39,667.07 in Asian trade, propelled by robust demand for technology equities due to the hype around Nvidia and artificial intelligence. Advantest Corp. surged 7%, while Tokyo Electron gained 3.6%. 15% was added by Shin-Etsu Chemical Co.

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Top Nifty 50 Gainers and Losers

As many as 26 stocks settled in the green in the Nifty 50 index while 23 ended in red, and 1 unchanged.

Shares of Reliance Industries Ltd (up 3.88%), Bharti Airtel Ltd (up 3.33%), UltraTech Cement Ltd (up 2.84%), Grasim Industries Ltd (up 1.51%) and Britannia Industries Ltd (up 1.49%) ended as top gainers. On the other side, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd (down 2.52%), Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd (down 1.81%), Bajaj Auto Ltd (down 1.76%), Tata Steel Ltd Ltd (down 1.64%), and Hindalco Industries Ltd (down 1.56%) were among the laggards.

Sectoral indices today

Financial Services, Media, Oil & Gas, FMCG, PSU Banks, and Private Banks were among the sectoral indices at the NSE that were trading in the green, while Auto, Metal, Realty, and Consumer Durables were among those that traded in the red. IT and Pharma ended flat.

Market Expert Views

The surge in large-cap companies, whose valuation is often reasonable, helped the domestic market reach a new high, according to Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services. In contrast, worries over valuation led to profit-taking in mid- and small-cap companies. Improved balance sheets, a robust GDP growth outlook, and declining inflation are currently driving the financials and consumer stocks to catch up. Similar patterns could be seen in attitudes on the global market, where rate cuts were widely anticipated.

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Disclaimer: The views and recommendations made above are those of individual analysts or broking companies, and not of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decisions.