Special Trading Session: Sensex Rises 88 Points, Nifty Above 22,500

The domestic stock market closed the special trading session on a firm note on Saturday, extending their rally to the third day running amid fresh foreign fund inflows. The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 88.91 points or 0.12 per cent to end at 74,005.94. During the session, it jumped 245.73 points or 0.33 per cent to 74,162.76. The NSE Nifty advanced 35.90 points or 0.16 per cent to 22,502.

The National Stock Exchange (NSE) and BSE on Saturday conducted a special trading session in the equity and equity derivative segments on Saturday to check their preparedness for handling major disruptions at the primary site. The special live trading session will have an intra-day switchover from the primary site (PR) to the disaster recovery (DR) site.

There will be two sessions — the first from 9:15 am to 10 am from the PR, and the second from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm from the DR site. During the special session, all securities, including those on which derivative products are available, will have a maximum price band of 5 per cent. Securities already in the 2 per cent or lower price band will continue to be available in the respective bands.

The market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies reached an all-time peak of Rs 4,12,36,791.05 crore in the special trading session.

Among the Sensex components, Nestle, Power Grid, Tata Motors, Tata Consultancy Services, HCL Technologies, Hindustan Unilever and State Bank of India were the major gainers. JSW Steel, Mahindra & Mahindra, Maruti and Kotak Mahindra Bank were among the laggards.

Wall Street ended mostly higher on Friday. “The Dow Jones Industrial Average has hit 40,000 for the first time, buoyed by optimism from a softer-than-expected April inflation report, which has increased bets on a September rate cut by the Federal Reserve.

“This positive sentiment extends to Indian markets, with the Nifty likely trading between 22,000-22,500, facing resistance at 22,500 and support at 22,000,” Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd, said. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) turned buyers on Friday after days of unabated outflows. They bought equities worth Rs 1,616.79 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.

“Dow Jones closing in record territory above 40,000 will continue to provide global support for equity markets. A significant trend now is the FIIs turning buyers yesterday, and this takes away the pressure on the markets,” said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services. The BSE benchmark climbed 253.31 points or 0.34 per cent to settle at 73,917.03 on Friday. The NSE Nifty rose 62.25 points or 0.28 per cent to 22,466.10.

In the broader market, the BSE smallcap gauge climbed 0.77 per cent and the midcap index advanced 0.48 per cent. All the indices ended in the green, with industrials, healthcare, telecommunication, capital goods and realty emerging as the major gainers. On the weekly front, the BSE benchmark climbed 1,341.47 points or 1.84 per cent, and the Nifty went up by 446.8 points or 2 per cent. Earlier on March 2 (Saturday), the BSE and NSE conducted a special trading session in equity and equity derivative segments.

Typically, switching to the DR site is done to ensure business continuity in the case of a major disruption or failure at the primary site.

In the opening trade, the domestic equities market on Saturday, May 18, opened at higher levels in the special trading session of the BSE and NSE. The BSE Sensex finished the first round of the special session 42.60 points higher at 73,959.63, while the NSE Nifty ended the first session higher by 15.8 points at 22,481.9.

The second part of the special trading session conducted at the disaster recovery (DR) site between 11:30 am to 12:30 pm.

Rupak De, senior technical analyst at LKP Securities, said, “The Nifty remains within the channel, closing above 22,500 for the first time in several days. However, a small bodied candle on the daily chart suggests very little about the future direction of the price. Additionally, heavy writing is visible in both CALL and PUT at the 22,500 strike, indicating a sense of inflection. Therefore, traders need to be watchful in the initial hour to confirm any directional move. Support is visible at 22,400. On the higher end, a sustained move can take the index towards 22,600 and higher in the short term.”