Markets settle higher in choppy session, Nifty ends tad below 8,400

BSE Midcap and BSE Smallcap indices registered an uptick of 0.06%, and 0.05%, respectively

In a volatile trading session, the benchmark indices on Monday settled higher as bargain hunting lifted recently-hit stocks, though sentiment remained cautious ahead of the Union Budget 2017 next week on February 1.

The S&P BSE Sensex managed to hold above 27,000, while the broader Nifty50 faced resistance at 8,400-mark.

The Sensex ended at 27,117, up 83 points, while the Nifty quoted 8,391, up 42 points at close.

In the broader market, BSE Midcap and BSE Smallcap outperformed the headline indices by rising 0.5% each.

The market breadth remained strong with 1,606 advances over 1,117 declines. 190 shares remained unchanged.

Sectors and stocks

Sectorally, BSE Metal (up 2.6%), BSE Basic Materials (up 1.4%) and BSE Oil & Gas (up 1.2%) performed well, while BSE Capital Goods, BSE Utilities and BSE Healthcare lost 0.5% each.

Kalpataru Power Transmission rended 2% higher to Rs 271 after the company said it received new orders worth over 8.25 billion rupees ($121.24 million).

RBL Bank rallied 5% to Rs 387 after the bank reported a 59% year on year (YoY) increase rise in net profit at Rs 129 crore for the third quarter ended December 2016 (Q3FY17) on back of higher interest as well as non-interest income.

The private sector lender had reported profit of Rs 81 crore in the same period last fiscal year.

Bhushan Steel hit 52-week high of Rs 57, up 14% on the BSE in intra-day trade on reports that the JSW Steel is in talks to buy the company. In past three trading sessions, the stock rallied 34% from Rs 42.55 on January 18, 2017.

ICICI Bank and Larsen & Toubro were the worst-performing stocks on Sensex and slipped 2.2% to Rs 257 and 1.6% to Rs 1,392 respectively.

Among other losers, Amara Raja Batteries fell 3.5% to Rs 871 after the company posted a 17.90% fall in net profit at Rs 112.32 crore for the quarter ended December 31, due to higher expenses. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 136.82 crore during the same period a year ago.

Photograph: Danish Siddiqui/Reuters