Nifty reclaims 5,700 level with modest gain; M&M in top gear

The October series futures and options (F&O) expiry day largely turned out to be a quiet and range-bound trading session. Market opened on a flat note amid profit-taking in frontline counters despite firm global cues.

The lacklustre session witnessed some firm buying in mid-morning helping the key index to regain the 5,700 mark on the back of covering-up of short positions by participants.

The market slipped into negative zone in the late afternoon as traders adjusted their outstanding positions in F&O segment before the expiry of current month's contract. It, however, recovered to end with slender gains.

Bank, auto and FMCG counters attracted good buying support, while pharma, metal, technology and capital goods saw profit taking.

The 50-share Nifty moved between 5,718.75 and 5,685.70 before settling at 5,705.30, registering a modest gain of 13.90 points, or 0.24 per cent, over its last close.

Stronger-than-expected Q2 numbers from Mahindra & Mahindra, which reported 22.30 per cent rise in standalone profit YoY, helped the aut major's counter to rally by over 3.50 per cent.

IDFC, HDFC, Hero MotoCorp, GAIL, Sesa Goa, Lupin, ITC, Ambuja Cement and HDFC Bank were the top percentage-wise Nifty Gainers. Key losers included Dr Reddy's, Ranbaxy, PNB, SBIN, RInfra, Bank of Baroda, Tata Steel, Cipla, Siemens and HUL.

High volumes were recorded on the last day of current settlement cycle.

The turnover in cash segment shot up to Rs 13,541.42 crore from Rs 8,284.21 crore on Tuesday. Overall, 7,929.11 lakh shares changed hands in 59,15,608 trades. Total market capitalisation stood at Rs 64,37,637 crore.