Market Wrap, April 29: Here's all that happened in the markets today

The domestic equity market settled in the positive territory for the third straight day on Wednesday, supported by buying in financial, IT, auto, and metal stocks.

The S&P BSE Sensex rallied 606 points or nearly 2 per cent to settle at 32,720. HDFC emerged as the biggest gainer on the index - up 7 per cent. HDFC Bank, HCL Tech, and Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) were next on the list. On the flip side, Axis Bank (down 3.6 per cent) settled as the top loser on the index.

NSE's benchmark index Nifty settled at 9,553, up 172 points or 1.84 per cent. Volatility index India VIX continued to slide and ended 4.3 per cent lower at 33.83 levels. 

Among sectoral indices, Nifty Metal index was the top gainer - up 3.74 per cent at 1,724 levels, followed by Nifty Financial Service index (up 3.43 per cent). Nifty IT ended over 2 per cent higher at 13,425 levels. 

In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap index ended at 11,840.20, up 1 per cent while the S&P BSE SmallCap index settled at 10,975, up over 1 per cent. 

Buzzing stocks

Shares of Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) traded higher for the third straight day on the BSE as investors indulged in some value buying after the price erosion during the coronavirus-induced sell-off. It settled at Rs 1,837 apiece on the BSE, up over 7 per cent. 

Ruchi Soya Industries has entered the list of top 200 most-valued companies by market capitalisation (market-cap) following a sharp run-up in its share price. At the close, the company's m-cap stood at Rs 11,558.51 crore on the BSE. The stock ended at Rs 390.70 apiece.

Axis Bank ended over 4 per cent lower at Rs 438.85 apiece on the BSE after the bank made massive Rs 7,730 crore provisions in the March quarter of FY20 (Q4FY20), of which Rs 3,000 crore worth provisions were due to coronavirus (Covid-19)-induced uncertainty. This pushed the bank in the red zone, with the lender posting a surprise Rs 1,388-crore net loss in the recently concluded quarter.