Sensex, Nifty Trade Flat Amid Choppiness; Asian Paints Surges 4%, Axis Bank Plunges 5%

The benchmark indices are trading in a subdued manner on Wednesday afternoon, amid bouts of volatility. Asian Paints has surged more than 4 per cent, whereas Axis Bank has tanked 5 per cent post its Q2 results. The Sensex has been confined to a narrow range of 250 points from an intra-day low of 61,315 and a high of 61,576. As of 1:00 pm, the BSE benchmark is trading at 61,458.55, higher by 110 points or 0.18 per cent and the NSE Nifty is at 18,316.30, up 45 points or 0.25 per cent.

The broader markets are witnessing buying interest, with the BSE Midcap index and BSE Smallcap index gaining 0.4 per cent and 0.6 per cent respectively.

In the currency market, the rupee has depreciated by 6 paise to 75.02 against the US dollar on Wednesday, weighed down by firm crude oil prices and a strong dollar. At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened on a weak note at 75.02, registering a decline of 6 paise from the last close.

On the stock-specific front, Asian Paints has soared 4 per cent to Rs 3,100 top the gainer's list on the BSE on reports that India's leading company has hiked the prices of its products. SBI, Sun Pharma and ICICI Bank have gained around 2 per cent each on the BSE.

On the other hand, Axis Bank shares have plummeted more than 5 per cent to Rs 796 a day after the private lender reported its September quarter earnings. Axis Bank reported a 86 per cent jump in standalone net profit to Rs 3,133 crore in the second quarter ended September 2021 compared to Rs 1,682.67 crore in the corresponding period last year. The shares of India's second largest private lender had gained 4 per cent ahead of the results, on Tuesday. Bajaj Finance, IndusInd Bank and Bajaj Finserv are the other substantial losers in the BSE pack, resistering losses of 2-3 per cent each.

The BSE market breadth is strong. Out of 3,310 stocks traded on the BSE, there are 1,947 advancing shares as against 1,225 declines.