Indian equities finished mixed on Wednesday as strength in the Auto, Real Estate and Public Sector Undertakings (PSU) sectors helped lift some benchmarks even as losses in Technology, Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) and Healthcare pressured parts of the market.
On the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the Nifty 50 closed up 0.07%, marking a fresh one-month high at the settlement. By contrast, the BSE Sensex 30 ended the day down 0.05%.
Among Nifty constituents, Eicher Motors Ltd. (NSE:EICH) led gains, climbing 6.59% or 480.50 points to finish at 7,776.50. Apollo Hospitals Enterprises Ltd. (NSE:APLH) added 3.93% or 284.00 points to close at 7,503.00, while State Bank Of India (NSE:SBI) rose 3.23% or 36.90 points to end at 1,181.00.
On the downside, Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. (NSE:TCS) was the session's largest decliner on the Nifty, slipping 2.53% or 75.60 points to 2,909.00. Infosys Ltd (NSE:INFY) lost 1.80% or 26.90 points to finish at 1,470.90 and Coal India Ltd (NSE:COAL) fell 1.67% or 7.20 points to close at 423.75.
The BSE Sensex 30 mirrored some of these moves. State Bank Of India (BO:SBI) led the gainers, rising 3.31% to 1,182.00. Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. (BO:MRTI) increased 1.79% to settle at 15,425.50, and Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd (BO:TAMO) advanced 1.33% to close at 384.30.
Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. (BO:TCS) paced declines on the Sensex, falling 2.46% to 2,910.95, while Infosys Ltd (BO:INFY) dropped 1.85% to 1,471.00. HCL Technologies Ltd (BO:HCLT) also declined, down 1.64% to 1,546.50 at the close.
Market breadth showed more falling issues than advancing ones. On the NSE, 1,461 stocks declined versus 1,056 advancers and 34 unchanged. On the Bombay Stock Exchange, 2,159 securities fell, 1,835 rose and 149 ended flat.
Notably, shares of Eicher Motors Ltd. (NSE:EICH) and State Bank Of India (NSE:SBI / BO:SBI) moved to all-time highs during the session, with Eicher closing at 7,776.50 and State Bank Of India closing at 1,181.00 on the NSE and 1,182.00 on the BSE.
Volatility as measured by the India VIX eased, slipping 1.18% to 11.53, signaling a modest reduction in implied volatility for Nifty 50 options.
In commodities, April gold futures rose 1.26% or 63.44 to $5,094.44 a troy ounce. Crude futures also firmed: March delivery crude oil climbed 1.45% or 0.93 to $64.89 a barrel, while the April Brent oil contract increased 1.38% or 0.95 to trade at $69.75 a barrel.
On the currency front, the Indian rupee was weaker against both the dollar and the euro in local terms, with USD/INR up 0.10% to 90.65 and EUR/INR rising 0.27% to 108.05. The US Dollar Index Futures eased 0.24% to 96.44.
Today's trading session delivered a mixed message: selective sector strength pushed the Nifty to a one-month high while other major indices and several large-cap technology names closed lower. Commodity prices moved higher and global currency benchmarks ticked lower for the dollar, all factors market participants will digest ahead of the next trading day.