Market Wrap, July 30: Indices rise for second day; NIFTY50 settles above 24,800, SENSEX up 144 points; L&T jumps 4%

The Indian stock market settled with gains for the second day on Wednesday, July 30, following a range-bound session amid heavy buying in Larsen & Toubro after its strong June quarter earnings.

The broader market, however, underperformed the main equity indices, while most of the sectors ended in red.

According to exchange data, on Tuesday, the foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth ₹4,636.60 crore on a net basis, while the domestic institutional investors (DIIs) purchased ₹6,146.82 crore worth of equities.

On the global front, stocks in Asia remained mixed on Wednesday as investors were worried after trade talks between the US and China ended without any substantive deal. The Federal Reserve policy announcement is also keeping the markets cautious.

Japan's Nikkei closed 0.11% lower at 40,629 levels, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng was seen at the 25,142 level, declining 1.52%.

The Shanghai Composite ended higher by 0.17% at 3,615.72 levels. South Korea’s Kospi index was also up 0.73% at 3,254.47 levels.

On Wall Street, stocks closed lower on Tuesday following some disappointing corporate earnings while investors wait for the Fed to meet on policy for further cues.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 204.57 points, or 0.46%, to end at 44,632.99; the S&P 500 lost 18.91 points, or 0.30%, to 6,370.86; and the Nasdaq Composite declined 80.29 points, or 0.38%, to end at 21,098.29.

As many as 3,057 stocks traded on the NSE on Wednesday. Out of this, 1,508 advanced and 1,465 stocks declined, while 84 scrips remained unchanged.

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

A total of 85 stocks hit their 52-week highs, while 35 stocks touched their one-year lows. Besides, 94 stocks hit their upper circuit limits, and 26 touched their lower circuit bands on Wednesday.

NSE-listed firms' market capitalisation stood at ₹449.51 lakh crore at the end of the session.

India VIX, the volatility gauge, stood at 11.21 levels, declining 2.77%.

The Nifty Smallcap 100 index slipped 0.52% to end at 18,156.8 levels, while the Nifty Midcap 100 index closed 0.07% lower at 57,942.25 levels.

Larsen & Toubro was the biggest contributor, jumping 4.68%, followed by Sun Pharma (1.51%), Tata Consumer Products (1.36%), NTPC (1.11%), and Maruti Suzuki (0.95%).

On the contrary, Tata Motors (-3.52%), Hero MotoCorp (-1.95%), Power Grid (-1.06%), Bajaj Auto (-1%), and Cipla (1%) were the biggest losing stocks on the 50-share index.