Stock Market Trades Flat: Sensex Dips 34 Points; Nifty Around 19,800. Pharma Gains, IT Drags

Stock update: On the 30-share Sensex platform, HCLTech, Tata Motors, Wipro, Infosys, Tata Steel, Bajaj Finserv emerged early losers. Sun Pharma, NTPC, JSW Steel, M&M, Maruti were among the gainers

The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Friday were trading flat amid volatility, tracking tepid global sentiments. At 10 am, the BSE Sensex marginally fell 34 points to 65,984. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty50 was trading at 19,794, down 8 points.

On the 30-share Sensex platform, HCLTech, Tata Motors, Wipro, Infosys, Tata Steel, Bajaj Finserv emerged early losers. On the flip side, Sun Pharma, NTPC, JSW Steel, M&M, Maruti were among the gainers.   

A total of 1,704 shares were advancing, 1,143 declining, while 122 shares remain unchanged.

In the broader market, the BSE Midcap index was up 0.3 per cent, and the Smallcap advanced 0.6 per cent.

Sectorwise, pharma index rose 1 per cent, while Information Technology and oil & gas stocks were in the red.

On the IPO front, Tata Tech IPO closes on Friday, the maiden share sale by the Tata Group firm has garnered almost 15 times subscription. Gandhar Oil Refinery, Flair Writing Industries, and Fedbank Financial Services were subscribed up to 15.3 times, 6.1 times, and 0.9 times, respectively, at the end of Day 2 of the offer period on Thursday.

The Asian markets were mixed, with only Japan’s Nikkei was trading in the positive zone. The US market was shut overnight for Thanksgiving holiday, and have a truncated trading session later tonight. On the other hand, European markets rose marginally on Thursday.

In the previous session on Thursday, the Sensex closed marginally down by 6 points to 66,018. The NSE Nifty50 settled at 19,802, down 10 points.

"Positive catalysts include sluggish WTI oil prices, FIIs and DIIs as net buyers, and global markets expecting the Fed to halt rate hikes," Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd, said in his pre-opening market comment.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.02 per cent to $81.40 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 255.53 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.

Meanwhile, the Indian rupee depreciated 2 paise and fell to its all-time low of 83.36 against the US dollar in the morning session on Friday, tracking a negative trend in domestic equities.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 83.33 against the dollar. It touched a low of 83.36 in initial deals, registering a fall of 2 paise over its previous close. On Thursday, the rupee settled at 83.34 against the American currency.