Market Wrap: Nifty Holds Above 25,000; Midcap Rally and SEBI Relief Drive Sentiment

Indian equities ended the week on a positive note as benchmark indices sustained crucial levels, supported by domestic institutional buying and easing concerns around foreign portfolio outflows.

The Nifty 50 closed above the 25,000 mark, adding 108 points, while the Bank Nifty gained 139 points to settle above 54,800. Gift Nifty futures were last seen trading near 25,200, indicating sustained strength going into the new week.

Institutional Activity

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were modest buyers with net inflows of ₹129 crore, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) added a hefty ₹1,556 crore. The combined buying of nearly ₹1,700 crore underpinned market resilience. Analysts noted that FIIs have slowed their selling, while DIIs continue to provide strong support.

Midcaps & Smallcaps: JBMA surged 14%, after rallying as much as 17% intraday. Hindustan Copper (+12%) and Hindustan Ceramics also featured among the top gainers alongside GMDC, GRSE and BEML.

Laggards: Network18, RattanIndia and Metropolis Healthcare slipped around 3%. Renewable energy counters also saw mild profit-taking.

Metals Shine: Hindustan Copper, Hindustan Zinc and GMDC extended gains, highlighting renewed strength in the broader metals pack.

Weekly Trends: Shriram Finance, Bajaj Finance, Bharat Electronics and Ashok Leyland were top outperformers. On the downside, Trent led the underperformers with a 7% weekly drop, largely on profit-booking.

Global Cues

Wall Street posted mixed signals with the Dow Jones slipping 125 points, while the Nasdaq gained over 100 points. Asian markets were also trading with a mixed bias.

Policy & Regulatory Updates

Market sentiment was aided by the outcome of the SEBI board meeting, where no adverse measures were announced. Key takeaways included:

Relaxation in minimum public shareholding norms for large IPO-bound companies.

Maximum exit load on mutual funds reduced from 5% to 3%.

No changes yet on weekly/monthly derivatives expiry rules, providing near-term relief to capital market companies.

Macro Data Watch

India’s August CPI inflation rose to 2.07%, higher than July’s 1.55%, though slightly below market expectations of 2.11%. Core inflation ticked up to 4.1%, a factor investors are monitoring closely.

IPO Buzz

The primary market remained active with robust subscription levels:

Dev Accelerator IPO closed at 43.87x subscription, commanding a grey market premium (GMP) of ₹10 (~16%).

Urban Company IPO witnessed strong demand at 46.42x subscription, with GMP rising to ₹44 (~43%).

Shringar House IPO subscribed 28.16x with a GMP of ₹33 (~20%). Analysts expect healthy listing gains for successful allottees.

Global Corporate Update

In international developments, Apple Inc. secured its 16th U.S. patent, this time for an AI-powered fraud detection system. Shares of Apple are trading at lifetime highs, supported by continuous innovation.

Brokerage Calls

VRL Logistics received a buy rating from Motilal Oswal with a target price of ₹350.

Karur Vysya Bank was assigned a target of ₹267 by ICICI Securities, implying nearly 30% upside from current levels. Analysts cited strong return ratios while cautioning on potential NPA risks.

Outlook

With Nifty sustaining above 25,000 and FIIs turning net buyers after a long gap, the near-term sentiment remains constructive. However, low volatility has capped option premiums, limiting opportunities for aggressive traders. Market participants will now watch next week’s Nifty Weekly View, along with trends in global markets, gold and silver prices.