Know how Nifty snapped a 2-day losing streak today

The Nifty snapped a 2-day losing streak on Wednesday as traders latched on to the relative safety of defensive pharma and software stocks and pressed sales on banking shares.

The Nifty added 28 points, or 0.3 percent, close at 8,495 after recovering from an intra-day low of 8,420 points. The Advance-Decline Ratio stood at 27/23 with pharma stocks ruling the roost. Sun Pharma, ACC, Lupin, Wipro and Cipla were the top five gainers on the Index while Hindalco, State Bank of India, Coal India, Bank of Baroda and Punjab National Bank lost ground. Tata Elxsi was the top traded counter on the second day on the NSE with 829 crore rupees worth of shares traded.

Sun Pharma and State Bank of India were also in major demand on the NSE. Non-Index pharma stocks were major gainers as well. Cadila Health, IPCA, Aurobindo Pharma and Natco pharma showed smart gains.

Bulls managed to pull off modest gains in the broader markets. Major indices such as CNX 100, CNX 200, CNX 500, CNX Junior Nifty and CNX Mid Cap Index closed with gains of 0.2-0.3 percent on Wednesday.

The Bank Nifty fell 77 points to 18,703 as traders pressed the Sell button on PSU banking stocks after a strong 3-day rally. Therefore, the CNX PSU Bank Index fell 2.7 percent, snapping a 2-day advance. The trend in other sectorial indices was mixed. The CNX Pharma, CNX Media, CNX Auto, CNX FMCG and CNX IT Indexes posted gains of between 0.2-2.7 percent.

On the Bombay Stock Exchange, the Sensex added 100 points, or 0.4 percent, to 27,931 points. Lupin, Sun Pharma, Hero Motors, Bajaj Auto and Infosys were the top gainers on the Index, while Coal India, Axis Bank and NTPC lost in trade on the Sensex where the Advance-Decline Ratio stood at 19/11 and Sun Pharma was the top traded counter with 35 crore rupees worth of shares changing hands.

The Bulls were marginally ahead of the bears in the wider market. Today 1,488 stocks gained ground versus 1,389 that fell below Tuesday's closing prices.

But the Bears were on top in the futures and options space even as Nifty Futures adding 27 points at 8,508. JP Associates, JP Power, Divi's Labs were top gainers while Amtek Auto, Kaveri Seed, IB Real Estate lost ground. Among sectors, Auto, Banking, Finance futures fell while Cement, Pharma and Technology sectors rose in trade. The Advance-Decline Ratio was at 72/89 in the futures and Options market.

3M, Ahluwalia Contracts, Amara Raja, Dishman and Divi's Labs hit fresh highs on the NSE. Rupa & Co, Atul Ltd., Future Retail, Everonn and Geometric Ltd. made it to the top volume buzzers list.

(Image credits: Indiatimes)