The Sensex and Nifty opened flat on Thursday as investors digested the US CPI data and turned their focus to India's CPI data, scheduled for release later in the day. This will provide insights into the Reserve Bank of India's potential rate cut trajectory.
The Sensex gained 3.59 points, or 0.00 per cent, closing at 81,529.73, while the Nifty fell by 8.65 points, or 0.04 per cent, to settle at 24,633.15. A total of 1,409 shares advanced, 1,772 shares declined, and 103 shares remained unchanged.
Tech M, Infosys, TCS, HCL Technologies and ICICI Bank were among the biggest gainers on BSE Sensex. L&T, NTPC, Titan, Tata Motors and Maruti were the biggest losers.
IT stocks led the Nifty's gains, buoyed by US inflation data that met expectations and reinforced the likelihood of a Federal Reserve rate cut next week, which is seen as positive for India's IT sector, given its substantial revenue from the US market.
In sectoral performance, the Nifty IT index gained over 1 per cent, with all 10 constituents advancing between 0.6 per cent and 2.3 per cent. TCS, Infosys, and Tech Mahindra were the top performers within the tech sector, which dominated the Nifty 50 gainers list. Other IT stocks, including Wipro, HCLTech, and Infosys, saw rises of 1-2 per cent each. In contrast, the Oil and Gas and Auto indices each declined by around 0.4 per cent.
Among individual stocks, Bajaj Housing Finance shares dropped more than 4 per cent following the expiry of the three-month shareholder lock-in period. Gopal Snacks saw a 5 per cent fall after a major fire broke out at its manufacturing facility near Rajkot, Gujarat.
Container Corporation of India (CONCOR) shares fell over 2 per cent after Goldman Sachs reiterated its bearish outlook on the logistics company, maintaining a 'sell' rating and reducing the target price to Rs 710, suggesting a 17 per cent downside from the previous day's close.
The BSE Midcap index remained flat in the broader market, while the BSE Smallcap index dipped by 0.3 per cent.