Stock Market: Bulls & Bears hold mat in sideways action

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By S Jha

New Delhi, October 16: Indices kept eyes on news flow from the battlefield of Gaza, with ears for words on ceasefire in Israeli offensive against the Hamas in Gaza. The street drew confidence during the session that Israel had not yet launched the ground offensive against the Hamas in Gaza, which could trigger regional worries with impact on the crude oil prices.

Nifty held the crucial 19700 level, but gave up the gains made during the day. Bank Nifty also gave up the grounds ahead of the announcement of the quarterly result by the banking behemoth HDFC Bank. The heavyweight bank came out with its numbers in line with the street expectations. The market is likely to react to the HDFC Bank numbers tomorrow.

Nifty had during the day recovered smartly to cover up the lost grounds to inch towards the crucial level of 19800. The index was helped by the rally in the IT and the metal counter. But the index erased all the gains in the late hour action, as the traders were seen to be risk averse to the overnight position in the wake of the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Diplomatic moves are fast paced, as the Secretary of the State of the US Antony Blinken arrived in Tel Aviv after finishing his travels to the Arab capital. The US President Joe Biden is also visiting Israel on Wednesday in solidarity with the terror-stricken country.

The metal sector was buzzing during the day with JSW Steel leading the show with gains, which was followed by Tata Steel and Hindalco. The two-wheeler companies were also buzzing, as Hero Motors extended the gains followed by Bajaj Auto, Maruti had also touched the level of Rs 10800, a record high for the scrip, but to give way to profit booking in the counter. The auto sector is buzzing ahead of festive season.

Even after delivering disappointing set of numbers, the IT counters were buzzing during the day led by HCL Technology, which has emerged as the most bullish of the largecap from the sector. LT Infotech was also in strong demand. Infosys too reversed its losing streak, but could not extend the gains.