Sensex, Nifty extend gains, Metal and Auto sectors lead market rally

The domestic equity market indices extended gains on Tuesday, following decline in India's consumer price inflation led by increases in banking, metal, and energy industries.However, concerns about the results of the ongoing general elections still persist.At close, the Sensex was up 328.48 points or 0.45 percent at 73,104.61, and the Nifty 50 was up 113.80 points or 0.51 percent at 22,217.85. About 2,435 shares advanced, 925 shares declined, and 103 shares were unchanged.Highlights of trade: 
●Zomato stock drops 4% after co posts Rs 175 crore Q4 PAT,
●Jefferies maintains buy rating on Zomato with a target of Rs 230,
●Motilal Oswal maintains neutral stance on UPL with a target price of Rs 560,
●Winsol Engineering lists at massive 387% premium on NSE SME,
●Shriram Finance shares climb over 5% on sale of housing finance subsidiary,
●HAL shares jump over 3% after UBS raises target price to Rs 5,200,
●PVR Inox Q4 net loss narrows to Rs 130 crore.
On the sectoral front, Nifty Metal was the top gainer,up 1.7 percent, followed by Realty and Auto,up 1.5 percent each.Nifty PSU Bank, Consumer durables and oil and gas were up 0.7 percent.While among losers Nifty pharma was down 0.35 percent.The broader market outperformed the benchmarks with BSE Midcap rising 1 percent and BSE Smallcap gaining 1.6 percent.
Rupee Close: 
On 14 May'24,the Indian  rupee opened on a flat note at 83.51 against the U.S. dollar in early trade on Tuesday, weighed down by the strength of the American currency in the overseas market and elevated crude oil prices.
Forex traders said the rupee remains under pressure due to ongoing elections as well as foreign fund outflows and the same shall subside once the results are out.
Trading Guide 
Market experts have recommended eights buy or sell stocks for today — Sun Pharma, ICICI Bank, SBI, Federal Bank, HCL Tech, GMR Infra, Olectra Green, and BHEL.

(Writer is a Finance Research Analyst, based in Gandhinagar, Gujarat)