Why stock market ended mixed today: Sensex, Nifty flat as Midcap Index gains 565 points

The equity benchmark indices BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty ended mixed on Tuesday , as profit booking in information technology stocks and continued pressure on financials weighed on the frontline indices, while the broader market outperformed.The Sensex fell 8 points to 73,599, and the Nifty declined 3.45 points to 22,750. The Nifty Bank lost 392 points to 53,975, while the Midcap index gained 565 points to 57,030.What Drove The Market Today?Capital market stocks extended their gains, tracking reports on long-term capital gains tax and securities transaction tax . BSE rose over 2% during the session.ALSO READ | IT, cement and telecom among top sector bets after market selloff: Quest InvestmentIT stocks saw profit booking, while financial stocks remained under pressure, keeping the benchmark indices subdued despite gains in the broader market.Which Stocks Led The Gains?Tata Consumer Products was the top Nifty gainer, rising nearly 7% after reporting in-line second-quarter results.APL Apollo Tubes gained over 6% following positive management commentary, while Bharti Airtel advanced over 3% after the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India released subscriber data for September.ALSO READ | Markets may stabilise in coming months; Paytm, defence stocks among top picks: Marketsmith IndiaNewly listed stocks also saw a strong session, with SMT rising 20% and Tonbo gaining nearly 6%.Why Did Some Stocks Fall After Q2 Results?Cipla ended with minor losses after reporting in-line second-quarter results, alongside a slight miss on the US sales front.

Sona BLW Precision Forgings jumped 9% following its Q2 results, while Aegis Logistics fell over 6%.Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders also saw a sharp decline, slipping over 6% after its second-quarter results. Bajaj Auto ended over 3% higher, while Maruti Suzuki gained 2% following their respective Q2 results.Why Did Healthcare Stocks Retreat From Their Highs?Apollo Hospitals and Max Healthcare came off their highs in the last hour of trade, tracking the drug pricing case in the Supreme Court.Ather Energy extended its gains, rising 21% since reporting its second-quarter results on Monday .ALSO READ | Jubilant Ingrevia Q2 results: Stock gains as much as 8% after Nutrition & Health Solutions aid earnings growthFrom the Sensex basket, Bharti Airtel Ltd, Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd, NTPC Ltd, Trent Ltd, Max Healthcare Institute Ltd and Jio Financial Services Ltd were the major gainers. ITC Ltd, Tata Consultancy Services Ltd, Coal India Ltd, ICICI Bank Ltd, Asian Paints Ltd and Infosys Ltd were the biggest laggards.Dharmesh Kant, Head Research, Chola Securities, on various stocks, said, "There are many companies that have come out with a stellar set of earnings.

To begin with, Bank of Maharashtra came out with a very strong set of numbers on any parameter you check. They have been growing very fast, with around 21% net interest income growth and 29% advances growth.Net NPA is 0.12%, and they have already front-loaded the ECL provisioning for one year, which is already there in the books of accounts. So, credit cost was around 0.15%, and the cost-to-income ratio has also improved.

With an annualised ROA of around 2.02% or 2.05%, it is available at 1.45 times its price-to-book value. So that's exciting. Acutaas reported an excellent set of numbers.ALSO READ | Why 360 ONE's Anup Maheshwari is turning more positive on equitiesI mean, operating profit growth was around 86%, PAT growth of 74% and margins improving by 900 basis points.

What they have done is that they are going slow in commodity specialty chemicals, so their contribution to overall revenue has come down. API has been 91%.Going forward, when semiconductor chemicals revenue flows into the system, maybe by the last quarter of FY27, this is going to look even better. EV battery materials, specialty chemicals are still to come into the business, and that would be in FY28.

So, it is an expensive stock, but a structural story is in the making. So, that is again a buy-and-hold kind of recommendation."