Market at Close | Sensex rises 304 points, Nifty settles at 24,619; pharma and auto stocks shine

Indian equities regained Tuesday’s losses on Wednesday (August 13), ending near the day’s high as buying interest emerged in pharma, metal, and auto counters.The Nifty 50 reclaimed the 24,600 mark, closing at 24,619, up 132 points, while the Sensex rose 304 points to 80,540. The Nifty Bank closed in the green but underperformed the broader market, gaining 138 points to settle at 55,181. The Midcap Index advanced 357 points to close at 56,682.

Auto stocks continued to attract buyers ahead of the festive season, with Hero MotoCorp emerging as the top gainer in the segment. Apollo Hospitals topped the Nifty gainers list, surging 8% after reporting a strong first quarter. Hindalco Industries rose over 5% on positive commentary, while the pharma pack moved sharply higher, with Dr Reddy’s Laboratories and Cipla among the top gainers.

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Defence stocks saw buying interest following a healthy Q1 performance by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) and a positive brokerage note for Bharat Dynamics Ltd (BDL). Among laggards, IndusInd Bank ended 1% lower after the Mumbai Economic Offences Wing (EOW) launched a preliminary enquiry into accounting lapses.Suzlon Energy fell 4% as its CFO’s resignation weighed on the stock. Nykaa advanced 5% after a strong Q1 performance, while Alkem Laboratories extended Tuesday’s gains, climbing 5% on beating street estimates in Q1.

Samvardhana Motherson gained 3% following positive commentary despite a miss in Q1 results. Paytm rose 2% after receiving the Reserve Bank of India’s approval to onboard merchants.

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LIC shares slipped on reports that the government may sell its stake in the insurer within the next two weeks. Market breadth favoured advances, with the advance-decline ratio at 4:3.