Markets extend gains amid volatile trade; Nifty nears 25,700

The stock market ended higher in a volatile session on Tuesday, extending its winning streak for the second consecutive day. The Nifty closed near the 25,700 mark, supported by positive cues from global markets.

At the close, the Sensex gained 335.97 points, or 0.40%, to settle at 83,871.32, while the Nifty rose 120.6 points, or 0.47%, to end at 25,694.95.

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Broader indices underperformed the benchmarks, with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices ending almost flat. The Midcap index edged up 0.20%, while the Smallcap index slipped 0.09%.

Among sectoral indices, Nifty Auto and Nifty IT recorded strong gains of 1.07% and 1.20%, respectively. Nifty Metal advanced 0.71%, while Oil & Gas rose 0.59%. Nifty Bank ended 0.35% higher at 58,138.15.

On the Nifty 50, around 40 stocks ended higher. The top gainers included InterGlobe Aviation (up 3.55%), Bharat Electronics (up 2.39%), and Mahindra & Mahindra (up 2.22%).

The major losers were Bajaj Finance (down 7%), Bajaj Finserv (down 5.92%), and ONGC (down 0.60%).

Out of 4,363 stocks traded on the BSE, 1,936 advanced, 2,245 declined, and 182 remained unchanged.

The initial public offering (IPO) of Pine Labs was subscribed nearly 2.5 times its offer size on the third and final day of bidding. The issue received bids for around 24.06 crore shares against an offer size of 9.79 crore shares.

More than 100 stocks touched their 52-week highs on the BSE, including Craftsman Automation, Bharat Forge, BHEL, NALCO, Ashok Leyland, Hitachi Energy, M&M, Asahi India, Muthoot Finance, Can Fin Homes, IOC, Shriram Finance, Torrent Pharma, MCX India, and Laurus Labs, among others.

Defence stocks such as Bharat Heavy Electricals, Garden Reach Shipbuilders, Bharat Electronics, Shipping Corporation of India, and Solar Industries India gained between 3% and 5%.

The market opened higher on positive global cues but pared early gains in the first half as investors remained cautious following the Delhi bomb blasts.