ION Exchange, Mphasis: Mid, smallcap stocks surge in trade; check reasons

Mid, smallcap stocks surge in trade: Shares of mid-and small-cap companies outperformed the benchmark indices, BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty50, on Friday, July 26. The gains in these two market segments were led by information technology (IT) and auto stocks. The BSE Midcap index climbed 1.81 per cent during intra-day trade, driven by gains in SJVN, Ashok Leyland, and Mphasis.

Among the top constituents of the BSE Midcap index, SJVN's shares rallied over 8 per cent after the company announced that the Government of Mizoram has allotted the 2,400 MW Darzo Lui pumped storage project (PSP) to SJVN. Shares of Ashok Leyland climbed 7 per cent to hit a new high of Rs 248.20 on the BSE in Friday’s intra-day trade amid heavy volumes.

Meanwhile, the BSE Smallcap index rose 1.21 per cent to a day's high of 54,414.46, with gains led by GHCL Textiles, Infibeam Avenues, and ION Exchange.

"Post-budget, it looks like markets are back in action, driven by impressive earnings sessions, and continue to see optimistic momentum ahead, with falling crude prices hitting a nearly two-month low and strong growth seen in domestic manufacturing PMI sectors, supporting markets. Specially, action is seen in midcap and small-cap stocks," said Prashanth Tapse, senior vice-president & research analyst at Mehta Equities.

Meanwhile, benchmark equity indices are also trading higher on Friday, July 26 with the BSE Sensex and the NSE Nifty50 climbing over 1 per cent during intra-day trade. After a positive opening at 80,163.31, the Sensex marched northward to 80,744.77, up nearly 1,000 points in intraday deals. Mirroring the Sensex, the Nifty also jumped over 1 per cent to a day's high of 24,656.85.

Top Sensex, Nifty gainers today, July 26

Among the sectoral indices, the IT index jumped over 2 per cent to hit a fresh 52-week high of 40,991.75, led by gains in Mphasis, LTIMindtree, Wipro, Infosys, and HCL Tech. Auto, metal, and financial services stocks were the other leading gainers among the sectors.

Tata Steel, JSW Steel, Adani Ports, Bharti Airtel, and Infosys were the leading gainers on the BSE Sensex, while on the NSE, the top gainers were Divi's Labs, SBI Life Insurance Company, Apollo Hospitals, HDFC Life Insurance, and Tata Steel.

Out of the 50 constituents on the NSE Nifty 50 index, 42 witnessed advances, while 8 posted a decline. As many as 174 shares hit their 52-week high on the NSE, while 9 touched their 52-week low.

The number of stocks that hit the upper circuit on the NSE was reported at 125 at around 12:30 PM.