Market Wrap, August 20: NIFTY50 ends above 25,000, SENSEX rises 213 pts as IT stocks rally; Infosys, TCS top gainers

The bullish sentiment on the Street returned after Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Independence Day announced overhauling the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime by Diwali in order to spur consumption, thereby boosting the economy.

The consumer stocks witnessed a significant gain on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, shares of online gaming companies declined as the proposed promotion and regulation of online gaming bill, cleared by the Union Cabinet on Tuesday, prohibits online money gaming or its ads and prescribes imprisonment or a fine, or both, for those offering or advertising them.

According to exchange data, on Tuesday, the foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth ₹634.26 crore on a net basis, while the domestic institutional investors (DIIs) purchased ₹2,261.06 crore worth of equities.

On the global front, Asian shares retreated from the day’s low on Wednesday ahead of a key meeting of central bankers later in the week.

Japan's Nikkei slipped 1.47%, South Korea's KOSPI declined 0.69%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng inched up 0.06%, and the Shanghai Composite gained 1.03%.

On Wall Street, the Nasdaq and S&P 500 declined on Tuesday, driven by tech stocks, as investors wait for Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s guidance on interest rates.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was flat at 44,922.27, the S&P 500 fell 37.78 points, or 0.59%, to 6,411.37, and the Nasdaq Composite declined 314.82 points, or 1.46%, to close at 21,314.95.

As many as 3,061 stocks traded on the NSE on Wednesday. Out of this, only 1,712 advanced and 1,263 stocks declined, while 86 scrips remained unchanged.

This indicated that the market breadth was in favour of advances.

A total of 81 stocks hit their 52-week highs, while 26 stocks touched their one-year lows. Besides, 123 stocks hit their upper circuit limits, and 43 touched their lower circuit bands on Wednesday.

NSE-listed firms' market capitalisation stood at ₹452.91 lakh crore at the end of the session.

India VIX, the volatility gauge, stood at 11.79 levels, losing 0.04%.

The Nifty Smallcap 100 index gained 0.30% to end at 17,968.40 levels, while the Nifty Midcap 100 index closed at the 57,930.50 level, rising 0.46%.

Nifty IT was the biggest gainer among sectors, jumping 2.69%. Nifty FMCG (1.39%), Nifty Realty (1.06%), Nifty Metal (0.43%) and Nifty Consumer Durables (0.06%) were the other winning sectors.

On the other hand, Nifty Media (-1.98%), Nifty Pharma (-0.44%), Nifty Private Bank (-0.36%), Nifty PSU Bank (-0.27%) and Nifty Oil and Gas (-0.13%) were the biggest losers.

On the NIFTY50 index, 28 stocks advanced while 22 declined at the end of the session.

Infosys was the most contributing stock, climbing 3.83%, followed by Tata Consultancy Services (2.61%), Nestle India (2.55%), Hindustan Unilever (2.43%) and NTPC (2%).

However, Bharat Electronics took the lead among losers, falling 2.17%. Shriram Finance (-1.64%), Bajaj Finance (-1.62%), Tata Motors (-1.46%) and IndusInd Bank (-0.95%) were the other top losers.