Stock Market Opens Flat Amid Cautious Sentiment; Sensex Hovers Near 82,620
Investors appeared to adopt a wait-and-watch approach ahead of key earnings announcements and global macroeconomic data
Indian stock markets opened on a muted note on Thursday, tracking mixed global cues and cautious investor sentiment. At the opening bell, the BSE Sensex was down 14.09 points or 0.02 per cent at 82,620.39, while the NSE Nifty slipped 2 points or 0.01 per cent to trade at 25,210.05. Investors appeared to adopt a wait-and-watch approach ahead of key earnings announcements and global macroeconomic data. Broader market movement remained range-bound in early trade.
Around 1,473 stocks recorded gains, while 699 declined and 153 remained unchanged in Wednesday’s trade.
Among the top performers on the Nifty were Hindalco, SBI, Eicher Motors, IndusInd Bank, and NTPC. On the other hand, Tech Mahindra, ICICI Bank, SBI Life Insurance, HDFC Life, and Asian Paints ended the session in the red.
Dr. VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, noted that the market continues to remain in a consolidation phase, with no clear triggers at present to push it out of the range-bound movement seen over the past two months. 'Even an India-US interim trade deal has been discounted by the market, leaving no scope for a sharp rally decisively breaking the range. One positive and surprise factor that can trigger a rally is a tariff rate much below 20%, say 15%, which the market has not discounted. So, watch out for developments on the trade and tariff front," he added.
Sectorial Update
Sectoral indices largely traded in the green, with Nifty Pharma emerging as the top performer, gaining 0.52 per cent. It was followed by Nifty Realty and Nifty Healthcare, both up 0.37 per cent, while Nifty Metal rose 0.26 per cent. Nifty Consumer Durables and Nifty FMCG also posted modest gains of 0.20 per cent and 0.12 per cent, respectively.
Previous Trading session
In the previous trading session on Wednesday, Indian stock markets closed with modest gains, marking a second straight session of positive momentum. The BSE Sensex rose by 66.73 points, or 0.08 per cent, to finish at 82,637.64, while the NSE Nifty50 added 16.25 points, or 0.06 per cent, to settle at 25,212.05. The lukewarm advance came as investors remained cautious amid mixed signals from global markets and limited sectoral participation.
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