Indian benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty 50, gained on Thursday, mirroring positive cues from global markets. However, gains were limited as investors remained cautious ahead of the scheduled Russia-U.S. talks on the Ukraine conflict, keeping sentiment subdued in the holiday-shortened week.
Indian equity indices ended marginally higher with Nifty above 24,600 on August 14. At close, the Sensex was up 57.75 points or 0.07 percent at 80,597.66, and the Nifty was up 11.95 points or 0.05 percent at 24,631.30.
Meanwhile, the broader markets witnessed a sell-off with mid and small-cap indices under pressure. The NSE Mid-cap index fell 0.3 percent, and the Smallcap index lost 0.4 percent.
Indian stock market: 10 key highlights from the day
1. Why Indian markets ended marginally higher today
“After a volatile weekly expiry-day session, Indian equities ended flat as investors traded cautiously ahead of the US-Russia summit. IT and pharma stocks advanced on the back of a softer US inflation data and dovish outlook. Banking and consumer durables also gained on hopes of a consumption-led recovery. However, weakness was seen in metals and energy indices due to falling commodity prices and oversupply concerns. S&P’s upgrade of India’s credit rating and its stable outlook, citing strong policy continuity and infrastructure-led growth, is likely to support the domestic market. In the near-term, the market is expected to trade in a tight range with a mixed bias, looking forward to upcoming geopolitical meets,” explained Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited.
2. Top gainers in the Nifty 50 index
As many as 20 stocks ended higher in the Nifty 50 index, with Wipro (up 2 percent), Eternal (up 1.71 percent), and Infosys (up 1.50 percent) ending as the top gainers.
3. Top losers in the Nifty 50 index
Shares of Tata Steel (down 2.81 percent), Adani Ports (down 1.38 percent), and Hero Moto (down 1.27 percent) were the top losers in the index.
4. Sectoral indices today
Sectoral performance was mixed. Nifty Consumer Durables was the top gainer (up 0.75 percent), followed by Nifty IT (0.4 percent).
Among losers, Metal and Realty were the drags, down 1.39 percent and 0.76 percent, respectively.
5. Most active stocks in terms of volume
Ola Electric (18.42 crore), JSW Cement (10.51 crore), Muthoot Finance (8.76 crore shares), VMM (7.94 crore), and Tata Steel (4.72 crore shares) were the most active stocks in terms of volume on the NSE.
6. Upper and Lower Circuits
74 stocks hit their respective upper circuits in trade today while 66 stocks were locked in their respective lower circuits on NSE.
7. Advance-decline ratio
Out of 3,066 stocks traded on the NSE, 1,131 advanced, while 1,809 declined. Some 104 stocks remained unchanged.
8. 59 stocks hit 52-week highs
As many as 59 stocks, including Eternal, Apollo Hospitals, TVS Motor Company, InterGlobe Aviation, M&M, and Hyundai Motor hit their 52-week highs in intraday trade.
9. 75 stocks hit 52-week lows
Jindal Saw, Vodafone Idea, HFCL, Cohance Life, Bata India, and Colgate Palmolive were among the 75 stocks that hit their 52-week lows on the NSE.
10. Nifty’s technical outlook
“Nifty witnessed a lackluster trading session, remaining range-bound ahead of the Trump–Putin meeting on Friday. The overall sentiment is likely to favour bullish trades as long as the index holds above 24,337. On the higher side, resistance is placed at 24,660 and 24,850, while a fall below 24,337 could trigger a resumption of the bearish trend,” said Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities.
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