Market wrap, Sept 23: SENSEX, NIFTY50 gain as metal stocks rally, crude oil price ease; Bajaj Fin, Hindalco top gainers

The Indian stock market ended with gains on Wednesday, September 23, led by a rally in metal, FMCG and realty stocks. The market investors' sentiment was also supported by easing crude oil prices and positive global cues.

Crude oil dropped for a second straight session and traded below the $100 per barrel mark on expectations of a diplomatic solution to the US-Iran ‌war through talks at the UN in New York.

According to exchange data, on Tuesday, the foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth ₹3,809.99 crore on a net basis, while the domestic institutional investors (DIIs) purchased ₹4,120.07 crore worth of equities.

On the global front, most of the indices in Asia extended their rally for the sixth straight session on Wednesday as investors remained optimistic following an AI chipmaker-led rally on Wall Street and a decline in oil prices.

Japan’s Nikkei index closed 1.36% higher, South Korea's KOSPI rose 0.89%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng slipped 1.13%, and China's Shanghai Composite fell 0.4%.

On Wall Street, the Nasdaq hit record high close on Tuesday, lifting AI-related stocks, while ​the S&P 500 hovered just below a record high amid falling oil prices. The S&P 500, however, ended flat at the 7,764.64 level.

Here are the key developments of Wednesday's session that you need to know

As many as 3,689 stocks traded on the NSE on Wednesday. Out of this, 2,344 advanced and 1,232 stocks declined, while 113 scrips remained unchanged.

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

A total of 135 stocks hit their 52-week highs, while 52 stocks touched their one-year lows. Besides, 176 stocks hit their upper circuit limits, and 78 touched their lower circuit bands on Wednesday.

The market capitalisation of NSE-listed firms stood at ₹483.31 lakh crore at the close of the session.

India VIX, the volatility gauge, stood at 10.29 levels, slipping 6.41%.

The NIFTY Smallcap 100 index surged 0.89% to end at 19,991.50 levels, while the NIFTY Midcap 100 index closed at the 62,396.45 level, climbing 0.7%.

Except for NIFTY IT (-0.87%) and NIFTY Media (-0.5%), all the other sectoral gauges ended with gains on Wednesday.

NIFTY Metal (2.4%) took the lead among the gainers' pack, while NIFTY FMCG (1.32%), NIFTY PSU Bank (1.14%), NIFTY Realty (1.1%) and NIFTY Pharma (0.9%) were the other winners.

Top gainers and losers

On the NIFTY50 index, 38 stocks advanced while 14 declined at the end of the session.

Bajaj Finance was the most contributing stock, rising 3.41%, followed by Hindalco Industries (3.17%), Tata Steel (3.16%), Apollo Hospitals (2.64%) and JSW Steel (2.43%).

On the flip side, HCL Technologies (-1.08%), Titan Company (-0.98%), Infosys (-0.86%), Coal India (-0.81%) and TCS (-0.93%) were the top losers on the 50-share index.