Sensex, Nifty end higher as banking stocks rally; SBI gains 2%

Benchmark stock market indices closed higher on Tuesday, driven by gains in banking sector stocks and Adani group shares as investors are looking beyond the recent GDP numbers.
The S&P BSE Sensex was up 597.67 points to close at 80,845.75, while the NSE Nifty50 gained 181.10 points to end at 24,457.15.
“The upward movement reflects a resilient market, bouncing back from earlier concerns over GDP slowdown and mixed global cues. Key contributors to the rally included major sectors such as banking and metals, with stocks like HDFC Bank, Union bank, Adani Portsleading the gains,” said Vaibhav Vidwani, Research Analyst, Bonanza.
Aditya Gaggar Director of Progressive Shares said that under the leadership of the banking stocks, especially PSU’s; the Index kept compounding its gains throughout the day and breached its strong hurdle of 24,350 to settle the trade at 24,457.15 with gains of 181.10 points.
The gainers in the session include Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone, which rose 5.86%, NTPC Limited which gained 2.65%, and Adani Enterprises which was up 2.20%. State Bank of India, gained 2.04%.
Bharti Airtel fell 1.50%, Hero MotoCorp lost 1.10%, and ITC lost 0.97%.
“Except for FMCG and Pharma, all the other sectors ended the trade higher where PSU Banks and Media were the top gainers. Mid and Smallcaps remained rangebound but outperformed the Frontline Index. As we were constantly indicating, the Index has ultimately given a breakout from an Inverted Head and Shoulder formation which provides a sign of a trend reversal i.e. negative to positive. As per the pattern, the approximate target comes to 25,440. The immediate resistance is at 24,660 while the support is shifted higher to 24,300,” he added.
The indices that experienced gains in the session include the Nifty PSU Bank increasing 2.60%, the Nifty Bank, which increased by 1.13%, the Nifty Auto with a 0.65% rise, the Nifty Financial Services up 0.93%, the Nifty Financial Services 25/50 gaining 0.86%, the Nifty Media rising 2.53%, the Nifty Metal up 1.23%, and the Nifty Private Bank gaining 0.86%.
On the other hand, the indices that saw losses include the Nifty FMCG, which declined by 0.39%, and the Nifty IT decreasing by 0.48%. The Nifty Pharma index also dipped slightly by 0.02%.
“The immediate attention is expected to remain on the RBI’s interest rate guidance and liquidity management. Banking stocks experienced the highest gains due to their interest rate sensitivity, while metal stocks benefited from increased import duties and favourable manufacturing data from China,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.
“With Nifty surpassing the 24,350 resistance, sustained momentum could drive the index toward the 24,700 mark. We recommend adopting a “buy on dips” strategy for the index. While most sectors are contributing to the recovery, our preference remains with IT and banking, advising a selective approach in other sectors,” said Ajit Mishra – SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd.