Sensex ends choppy day 170 pts up, Nifty at 17,650; IT stocks lead gains

CLOSING BELL: Following a sharp selloff over the last two days, equity markets were in a tight grip of volatility on Monday with benchmark indices managing to eke out nominal gains by close. The BSE Sensex oscillated 945 points between gains and losses during the day. It touched an intra-day low of 58,699 to eventually recover and close 170 points higher at 59,500. The NSE Nifty also rose 243 points from its day's low to end at 17,649, up 45 points. 

The top stocks that helped the indices edge higher included Adani Enterprises, Bajaj twins, Ultratech Cement, HCL Tech, NTPC, Asian Paints, Infosys, Wipro, Maruti and Reliance, which gained 1-5 per cent.

On the flip side, Power Grid, L&T, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Auto, HUL, Tata Steel and JSW Steel were the leading frontline losers that dropped up to 3 per cent. 

Meanwhile, broader markets trailed gains in benchmark indices. The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices closed up to 0.2 per cent lower. Among sectors, Nifty IT gained the most by 1 per cent followed by PSB index, while oil & gas pocket was the top loser, down over 3 per cent. 

Buzzing stocks

Adani group stocks were mixed on Monday with Adani Enterprises, Ambuja Cements and ACC gaining 1.4-4 per cent following the group's detailed rebuttal to allegations made by Hindenburg Research. While Adani Transmission, Adani Total Gas, Adani Green ended 15-20 per cent lower. Adani Wilmar, Adani Power and NDTV lost 5 per cent each. With this, the group's market rout has exceeded $66 billion. READ

Meanwhile, Bajaj Finance was the top index winner that ended around 5 per cent higher on reporting its highest-ever consolidated quarterly profit of Rs 2,973 crore in Q3. READ

Quiet response to Adani Ent's OFS

As of 3:40 pm, Adani Enterprises' OFS had been subscribed only 2 per cent with bids made for 9,10,140 shares versus 4,55,06,791 shares on offer. The stock ended at Rs 2878.5, down 8.1 per cent over the floor price of the OFS.