Stock market today: Nifty 50 rises for 5th consecutive session; focus shifts to Jackson Hole for Fed rate cut cues

Stock market today: Led by gains in shares of select FMCG and IT heavyweights, including ITC, Hindustan Unilever and TCS, the Indian stock market benchmark - the Nifty 50 - closed in the green for the fifth consecutive session on Wednesday, August 21. In the last five sessions of gains, the Nifty 50 has risen about 2.6 per cent.

The domestic market ended with gains on Wednesday, tracking largely positive global cues ahead of the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium, as expectations are high that US Fed Chair Jerome Powell will provide clear hints about the trajectory of rate cuts, which are anticipated to begin in September.

This year, the Federal Reserve's Jackson Hole Economic Symposium, which is an annual conference, will be held from August 22 to 24. Powell is expected to speak at the conference on Friday.

Moreover, the focus is also on the minutes of the Fed's last meeting, which is expected on Wednesday. Powell hinted in the Fed's last policy meeting that the rate cuts were possible in September.

The Nifty 50 opened 18 points lower at 24,680.55, compared to its previous close of 24,698.85. It touched its intraday high and low of 24,787.95 and 24,654.50, respectively. The index finally closed 71 points, or 0.29 per cent, higher at 24,770.20.

Shares of ITC, Bharti Airtel, Hindustan Unilever, Titan and TCS ended as the top five contributors to the gains in the Nifty 50 index. On the flip side, shares of HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Tata Steel, UltraTech Cement and Power Grid ended as the top five drags on the index.

The Sensex opened 136 points down at 80,667.25 against its previous close of 80,802.86 and touched its intraday high and low of 80,952.83 and 80,626.38, respectively. The index finally settled 102 points, or 0.13 per cent, higher at 80,905.30.

The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices outperformed the Sensex, rising 0.43 per cent and 0.87 per cent, respectively.

The overall market capitalisation of the firms listed on the BSE rose to nearly ₹459.3 lakh crore from nearly ₹456.9 lakh crore in the previous session, making investors richer by about ₹2.4 lakh crore in a single session.

Among the key sectors on the NSE, the Nifty Realty index fell 1.31 per cent. Nifty Bank declined 0.23 per cent while the Financial Services index slipped 0.15 per cent and the PSU Bank index dropped 0.43 per cent.

On the other hand, Nifty Consumer Durables (up 1.41 per cent), FMCG (up 1.37 per cent), Media (up 1.20 per cent) and Pharma (up 0.91 per cent) closed with healthy gains.

"The Indian market traded on a tight range with a positive bias supported by strong DII flows. The defensive sector outperformed due to a continued shift in portfolio towards FMCG, consumer, commodities, and pharma. Global markets exhibited a mildly cautious tone ahead of the release of the FOMC minutes later today. Currently, the expectation of a rate cut remains high, given the fall in US inflation and moderation in overall growth," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.

On the technical front, the structure of the market remains positive.

Shrikant Chouhan, the head of equity research at Kotak Securities, underscored that on daily and intraday charts, the Indian stock market is holding uptrend continuation formation, which is largely positive.

"As long as the index is above 24,650, the bullish texture is likely to continue on the higher side market could rally up to 24,850-24,900. Conversely, the dismissal of 24,650 may trigger one quick intraday correction till 20-day SMA (Simple Moving Average) or 24,525-24,500," said Chouhan.

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