Indian stocks turned volatile in Tuesday’s session, May 5, as renewed tensions between US and Iranian forces dragged the benchmarks lower, while investors also assessed the latest batch of March-quarter corporate earnings.
Although the Nifty 50 ended the session up 0.36% at 24,032, the index staged a strong intraday recovery from the day’s low of 23,822. The S&P BSE Sensex also recouped most of its intraday losses to settle with a modest decline of 0.33% at 77,0179.
The broader market, however, outperformed the headline indices, with the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 each closing with gains of over 0.26%.
Tensions in the Middle East escalated after the US and Iran exchanged fire in the Strait of Hormuz, raising uncertainty over the durability of the four-week ceasefire. Brent crude surged to an intraday high of $115.3 a barrel on Monday after Iran reportedly stepped up attacks on the UAE and commercial ships in the Persian Gulf, including several in the Strait of Hormuz.
Rising are negative for India, the world’s third-largest importer of crude, as they add to inflationary pressures and weigh on economic growth as well as corporate earnings.
Sectoral performance remained mixed, with Nifty Auto, Nifty Pharma, Nifty FMCG and Nifty Chemicals closing higher, while Nifty Realty, Nifty Consumer Durables and Nifty PSU Bank ended the session in the red.
Earnings optimism and renewed buying drive sharp gains in select counters
Buying momentum in further accelerated as the shares closed 15.4% higher at ₹1,523 apiece, extending their winning run to the seventh straight session, while Computer Age Management Services witnessed renewed buying, with the stock ending the day with a robust 9% gain at ₹797.
Following its turnaround performance in the March quarter, surged 9% to ₹1,550, while posted a similar gain of 9%. Netweb Technologies India reversed its recent losses, jumping 6.4% to ₹4,189 apiece.
Demand for Tata Technologies strengthened after its Q4 results, driving the stock 5.6% higher to ₹627.50 apiece.
Other stocks that posted similar gains included , Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers, Gabriel India, Finolex Cables, Aavas Financiers, Aditya Birla Capital, and Aadhar Housing Finance, all of which ended 4% to 6% higher.
Mahindra & Mahindra closed with gains of 3.7% as investors reacted positively to their March quarter figures and Dabur India closed with a similar 3.7% surge.
Remaining higher for the second straight day, Vedanta advanced another 3.14% to ₹305 apiece, while resumed its upward move with a 4% gain after two sessions of losses. Meanwhile, Adani Green Energy moved up 3.1% to ₹1,331.
Profit booking drags recent outperformers lower
Among the top losers, shares fell 6% to ₹203 as investors booked profits in the counter following the sustained rally that had lifted the stock to a five-month high.
CESC, Emcure Pharmaceuticals, Syngene International, Voltas, and Ola Electric Mobility also came under pressure, with each falling over 5%.
Godrej Properties dropped 5% to ₹1,811, even as brokerages remained positive on the stock following its March quarter numbers.
Other major laggards included , Sapphire Foods India, Urban Company, Kajaria Ceramics, IIFL Finance, , PhysicsWallah, and Transformers & Rectifiers, all of which closed with losses of over 4%.
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