Market Wrap, May 21: Headline indices settle in positive territory; NIFTY50 ends above 24,800, SENSEX rises 410 points; pharma shares surge

The Indian stock market settled with gains on Wednesday, May 21, following its Asian peers and a rally in the pharma and realty sectors.

Investors’ sentiment was further boosted after global credit ratings agency Moody’s said India is well-positioned to deal with the negative effects of US tariffs and global trade disruptions as domestic growth drivers and low dependence on exports anchor the economy.

In a note on India, the agency said government initiatives to boost private consumption, expand manufacturing capacity and increase infrastructure spending will help offset the weakening outlook for global demand.

Except for Nifty Consumer Durables (-0.49%), all the other sectors ended in the green. The broader market also had a positive session.

Meanwhile, according to exchange data, on Tuesday, the foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth ₹10,016.10 crore on a net basis, while the domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought equities worth ₹6,738.39 crore.

On the global front, snapping its three days of rally, the US market closed lower as investors were cautious around Trump’s policies and rising Middle East tensions.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 114.83 points, or 0.27%, to 42,677.24, the S&P 500 fell 23.14 points, or 0.39%, to 5,940.46, and the Nasdaq Composite declined 72.75 points, or 0.38%, to 19,142.71.

Except for Japan’s Nikkei, most of the Asian stocks ended with gains on Wednesday. The Nikkei 225 ended 0.62% lower at the 37,298.98 level, while Singapore's Straits Times remained unchanged.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.61% to 23,827.78, while South Korea's KOSPI gained 0.91% to close at 2,625.58. The Shanghai Composite settled 0.21% higher at the 3,387.57 level.

As many as 2,941 stocks traded on the NSE on Wednesday. Out of this, 1,753 advanced and 1,095 stocks declined, while 93 scrips remained unchanged.

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

A total of 50 stocks hit their 52-week highs, while 17 stocks touched their one-year lows. Besides, 75 stocks hit their upper circuit limits, and 65 touched their lower circuit bands on Wednesday.

NSE-listed firms' market capitalisation stood at ₹438.94 lakh crore at the end of the session.

India VIX, the volatility gauge, stood at 17.55 levels, rising 0.93%.

The Nifty Midcap 100 index surged 0.78% to 56,619.60 levels, led by gains in Solar Industries, Bharat Dynamics, Policy Bazaar, NTPC Green Energy and Aditya Birla Capital.

Rallies in Tata Teleservices, Trident and Go Digit General Insurance shares contributed to the Nifty Smallcap 100 index, which settled 0.38% higher at 17,548.60 levels.

Bharat Electronics (5.26%), Tata Steel (1.93%), Cipla (1.83%), HDFC Life Insurance (1.47%) and Bajaj Finserv (1.46%) were the most contributing stocks on the 50-share index.

On the other side, IndusInd Bank (-1.98%), JSW Steel (-1.07%), Kotak Mahindra Bank (-0.84%), Grasim (-0.65%) and Coal India (-0.65%) were among the top losers on Wednesday.

Nifty Realty was the biggest gainer among sectors, surging 1.72%. Nifty Pharma (1.25%), Nifty Auto (0.72%), Nifty IT (0.69%) and Nifty PSU Bank (0.67%) were the other top gainers.