The Indian market ended in the green on Wednesday, supported by a rally in Larsen & Toubro after the engineering giant posted strong quarterly results. However, broader gains were tempered as investors remained cautious ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s policy decision and an impending U.S. tariff deadline.
The benchmark BSE Sensex added 143.91 points, or 0.18%, to close at 81,481.86. The NSE Nifty advanced 33.95 points, or 0.14%, to finish at 24,855.05.
Here’s how analysts read the market pulse:The domestic market ended the session marginally positive after a range-bound trade, despite ongoing uncertainty around the delayed India-US trade agreement and mixed earnings, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments, adding that “the investors turned more stock/sector specific based on the Q1 results; the industrial segment gained momentum after robust earnings from L&T.”
The auto sector underperformed, largely due to tariff-related pressures, said Nair, adding that investors are now focusing on the US Fed’s policy meeting, “as its stance on rates and inflation could shape global sentiment.”
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US marketsWall Street held its ground on Wednesday, as investors digested robust GDP numbers and looked ahead to the Federal Reserve’s policy decision and earnings from major technology companies.U.S. economic growth rebounded in the second quarter, beating expectations, but the reality remains grim as most of the boost came from waning imports, while domestic demand only inched higher.Following the data, traders dialed back their bets on a September Fed rate cut, with the odds slipping to 57% from 64%, according to CME’s FedWatch tool.
While analysts anticipate little drama from the Fed decision, investors will be parsing Chair Jerome Powell’s comments for any hints on future policy direction, especially as the central bank navigates political pressure and assesses the effects of tariffs on inflation.
The latest ADP report showed private payrolls grew by 104,000 in July, topping forecasts of 75,000, ahead of Friday’s all-important nonfarm payrolls release.
European stocksEuropean shares closed flat on Wednesday as investors weighed the impact of tariffs on corporate earnings after big companies including Adidas, Porsche and Aston Martin flagged potential U.S. price hikes.
Investors were eagerly awaiting the latest round of company outlooks, as these were the first quarterly reports issued since trade uncertainty overwhelmed markets.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index was last at 550.24 points, with the auto sector the hardest hit during the day.
Tech ViewThe Nifty traded within a narrow range, remaining below the 50 EMA on the daily timeframe, said Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities, adding that the short-term trend remains slightly weak as the index continues to sustain below this critical moving average.
“However, the possibility of a meaningful recovery stays intact, supported by a bullish reversal pattern formation and a hidden positive divergence. In simple terms, the index may continue to move up towards 25,000–25,200 in the short term, with support placed at 24,750. A break below this level could weaken market sentiment,” said Nair.
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Most active stocks in terms of turnoverLarsen & Toubro (Rs 3,194 crore), New India Assurance (Rs 1,624 crore), HDFC Bank (Rs 1,534 crore), Avenue Supermarts (Rs 1,534 crore), Varun Beverages (Rs 1,338 crore), Tata Motors (Rs 1,267 crore) and ICICI Bank (Rs 1,074 crore) were among the most active stocks on BSE in value terms. Higher activity in a counter in value terms can help identify the counters with highest trading turnovers in the day.Most active stocks in volume termsVodafone Idea (Traded shares: 30.97 crore), New India Assurance (Traded shares: 8.26 crore), JP Power (Traded shares: 6.33 crore), YES Bank (Traded shares: 5.35 crore), PNB (Traded shares: 4.96 crore), Ola Electric Mobility (Traded shares: 4.67 crore) and Indian Energy Exchange (Traded shares: 3.84 crore) were among the most actively traded stocks in volume terms on NSE.Stocks showing buying interestShares of New India Assurance, Sumitomo Chemical, Jubilant Life, Avenue Supermarts, Craftsman Automation, Siemens Energy India and Coromandel International were among the stocks that witnessed strong buying interest from market participants.
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52 Week highOver 144 stocks hit their 52 week highs today while 66 stocks slipped to their 52-week lows.Stocks seeing selling pressureStocks which witnessed significant selling pressure were Redington, Triveni Engineering & Industries, Five-Star Business Finance, Reliance Power, Zen Technologies, Blue Dart Express and JM Financial.
Sentiment meter neutralThe market sentiments were neutral. Out of the 4,158 stocks that traded on the BSE on Wednesday, 1,968 stocks witnessed declines, 2,030 saw advances, while 160 stocks remained unchanged.
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(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of the Economic Times)