Market Wrap, September 16: SENSEX soars 595 points, NIFTY50 above 25,200, driven by auto stocks; Kotak Mahindra Bank tops movers

The Indian stock market closed higher on Tuesday, September 16, driven by a robust rally in auto and realty stocks amid positive global cues.

The benchmark indices gained momentum as India and US chief negotiators commenced talks on a proposed trade agreement aimed at addressing challenges posed by steep tariffs, which have raised concerns for exporters. Investors worldwide are also closely watching the US Federal Reserve’s decision on a potential rate cut.

The Fed’s two-day Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting will conclude on Wednesday, September 17, with markets largely pricing in a 25-basis-point rate cut amid easing concerns over the US labour market.

According to exchange data, on Monday, the foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth ₹1,268.59 crore on a net basis, while the domestic institutional investors (DIIs) purchased ₹1,933.33 crore worth of equities.

On the global front, Asian shares traded mixed on Tuesday after Wall Street hit new record highs, as investor anticipation grew over the US Federal Reserve meeting.

South Korea's KOSPI rose 1.23%, Japan's Nikkei climbed 0.53%, and the Shanghai Composite gained 0.04%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng slipped 0.04%.

On Wall Street, the three major indices rose on Monday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq reaching record high closing levels, ahead of the Federal Reserve’s important policy announcement expected later this week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 49.23 points, or 0.11%, to 45,883.45; the S&P 500 rose 30.99 points, or 0.47%, to 6,615.28; and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 207.65 points, or 0.94%, to 22,348.75.

As many as 3,152 stocks traded on the NSE on Tuesday. Out of this, 2,005 advanced and 1,059 declined, while 88 scrips remained unchanged.

This, however, indicates that the market breadth favoured advances.

A total of 91 stocks hit their 52-week highs, while 21 stocks touched their one-year lows. Besides, 117 stocks hit their upper circuit limits, and 41 touched their lower circuit bands on Tuesday.

NSE-listed firms' market capitalisation stood at ₹459.77 lakh crore, adding almost ₹3 lakh crore from the previous session.

The volatility index India VIX declined 1.20% to 10.27 levels.

The NIFTY Midcap 100 index gained 0.54%, ending at 58,799.55 levels, while the NIFTY Smallcap 100 gauge settled 0.95% higher at 18,298.35 levels.

Except for Nifty FMCG (-0.27%), all other indices closed in the green. Nifty Auto led the gains, rising 1.44%, driven by Balkrishna Industries (up 2.76%), MRF (up 2.37%), and M&M (up 2.31%).

Other sectoral performers included Nifty Realty (up 1.07%), Nifty IT (up 0.86%), Nifty Media (up 0.86%), Nifty Oil & Gas (up 0.86%), and Nifty Metal (up 0.83%).

Kotak Mahindra Bank was the biggest contributor, gaining 2.67%, followed by Larsen & Toubro (2.34%), Mahindra & Mahindra (2.31%), Eicher Motors (2.21%) and Maruti Suzuki (2.14%).

On the flip side, Shriram Finance (-0.83%), Asian Paints (-0.82%), Nestle India (-0.70%), Tata Consumer Products (-0.62%), HDFC Life Insurance (-0.53%), Bajaj Finance (-0.29%), SBI Life Insurance (-0.17%) and HDFC Bank (-0.08%) were the only losers on the 50-share index.