Sensex, Nifty Inch Higher Led by Banking Heavyweights

20 Feb 2024 , 01:07 PM

During afternoon trade on February 20, the benchmark Sensex and Nifty 50 managed to recover from their initial losses and were trading marginally higher. Initially, the market opened on a negative note, mirroring subdued cues from Asian markets, which failed to uplift sentiment for domestic equities. However, gains in heavyweight banking stocks such as HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, and Kotak Mahindra Bank helped lift the two benchmarks out of negative territory.

As of 1 PM, the Sensex was up by 226.46 points or 0.31%, reaching 72,934.62, while the Nifty had gained 34.30 points or 0.16%, standing at 22,156.60. Market breadth remained mixed, with 1768 shares advancing, 1499 shares declining, and 69 shares unchanged.

In the broader market, profit-booking was observed, with the BSE Smallcap index trading flat and the BSE Midcap down by 0.3%.

Among the key gainers on the Nifty were Power Grid Corp, HDFC Bank, NTPC, Grasim, and Axis Bank. Conversely, notable losers included Hero MotoCorp, Coal India, Bajaj Auto, BPCL, and Eicher Motors.

Sector-wise, auto, IT, metal, and oil & gas sectors witnessed declines ranging from 0.5 to 1%. On the other hand, sectors such as media, power, and realty saw gains of 1% each.