The Indian stock market closed higher during Wednesday’s trading session, September 17, led by optimism over ongoing trade talks between India and the US and hopes that the US Federal Reserve will announce a rate cut later in the day, which drove the benchmark indices for the second straight day and pushed them to a three-month high.
The Nifty 50 ended the session up 0.36%, closing above the 25,300 mark at 25,330, while the S&P BSE Sensex surged 0.38% to finish at 82,693. Broader markets, however, ended mixed, with the Nifty Midcap 100 rising 0.08% and the Nifty Smallcap 100 rallying 0.70%.
Sector-wise, the Nifty PSU Bank led the gains, rising 2.61%, followed by Nifty IT and Oil & Gas, which added 0.65% and 0.86%, respectively. The Nifty Bank index also advanced 0.63%. On the losing side, Nifty Metal was the top laggard, slipping 0.50%, followed by the Nifty Consumer Durables index, which dropped 0.30%.
The trade negotiations, which resumed on Tuesday in New Delhi, are expected to take shape quickly as both nations agreed to intensify efforts to reach a mutually beneficial trade deal.
In a day-long discussions on Tuesday between the American trade team led by chief negotiator Brendan Lynch and Indian officials headed by Rajesh Agarwal, special secretary in the department of commerce, both sides agreed to move the negotiation process from where it had stalled, with the objective of quickly reaching a bilateral trade agreement (BTA).
Meanwhile, the US Federal Reserve will announce its policy decision later in the day, with the market largely anticipating a 25-basis point rate cut, and some even speculating that the bank may go for a 50-basis point cut amid a deteriorating US labor market, which in recent months has shown weakness such as a slowdown in hiring, rising unemployment claims, and an increasing unemployment rate.
DCM Shriram, Garden Reach Shipbuilders lead the winners’ list
Among the top performers, DCM Shriram stood out as the stock closed higher by 12.6% at Rs1,379 apiece, while Elgi Equipments shares also advanced 6.8% to ₹498.9 apiece, marking its biggest single-day gain in the last two months.
Defence-related stocks once again made stellar moves, with stocks such as Garden Reach Shipbuilders, PTC Industries, Zen Technologies, Data Patterns, Cochin Shipyard, and Bharat Electronics closing with gains between 2% and 6.7%.
PSU banking stocks also performed well, with Bank of Maharashtra gaining 4.4%, and Punjab National Bank and State Bank of India each gaining over 3%. Bank of Baroda, Karur Vysya Bank, Jammu & Kashmir Bank, Central Bank of India, and Union Bank of India all closed with gains of over 2%.
These gains came after M. Nagaraju, Secretary of the Department of Financial Services (DFS), said that four state-run lenders—including Indian Overseas Bank, Punjab & Sind Bank, UCO Bank, and Central Bank of India—will be raising capital this year to comply with the Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (SEBI) minimum public shareholding (MPS) norm.
Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC, Sarda Energy & Minerals among top laggards
Extending its losing streak for the fourth straight session, Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC lost another 3% of its value, reaching the lowest level since July at ₹816.50 apiece. The latest sell-off has caused the stock to correct 10% from its August peak.
Sarda Energy & Minerals also closed lower for the second consecutive session, with the stock falling 2.5% to ₹602.30 apiece. Cohance Lifesciences was another top laggard, dropping 2.5% to ₹966, while Syrma SGS Technology resumed its losing streak, declining another 2.35% to ₹798 apiece.
Other notable stocks such as Westlife Foodworld, Vodafone Idea, ICICI Lombard General Insurance, Aditya Birla Capital, Godfrey Phillips India, Jindal Steel, Supreme Industries, and Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences closed with losses of over 2%.
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