Sensex, Nifty close flat; IT shares gain on US spending hopes

The 30-share BSE Sensex edged up 1.59 points to close at 81,510.05 with 16 of its components closing higher and 14 ending lower.

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

The index opened flat and climbed 217.88 points or 0.27 per cent to hit an intraday high of 81,726.34 in the first half. However, the index fell 325 points to hit a low of 81,508.46 due to profit booking in the second half. A recovery in select heavyweights Infosys, ICICI Bank and SBI helped it recover losses in the pre-close session. Falling for the third day, the NSE Nifty dropped by 8.95 points or 0.04 per cent to settle at 24,610.05. In the intraday trade, it slipped 108.35 points or 0.44 per cent to hit a low of 24,510.65.

"The domestic market concluded on a flat note, a rebound from the lows suggests buy-on-dip strategy," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services, said. The broader market outperformed, maintaining its positive trend led by mid and small-caps. The BSE IT index reached record high of 45,154.10 in anticipation of improvement in US IT spending. From the 30-share pack, Bajaj Finserv, HCL Technologies, Infosys, State Bank of India, Bajaj Finance, ICICI Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Titan were among the gainers. Bharti Airtel, Adani Ports, Tech Mahindra, Reliance Industries, Axis Bank, Larsen & Toubro were the laggards.

The BSE smallcap gauge climbed 0.33 per cent and the midcap index gained 0.30 per cent. Among sectoral indices, realty rose 1.22 per cent, focussed IT by 0.84 per cent, IT by 0.70 per cent, metal by 0.41 per cent, and commodities and financial services by 0.36 per cent each. Telecommunication, Utilities, Power, Services and Capital Goods were among the laggards.

Meanwhile, shares of Religare Enterprises rose 3.75 per cent to close at Rs 288 apiece,after the Reserve Bank approved the open offer of the Burman family the promoters of FMCG major Dabur to acquire an additional 26 per cent stake in the NBFC firm. During the day, it bounced more than 9 per cent to hit its 52-week high of Rs 304.30 apiece on the bourse.

Waaree Energies scrip climbed 5.55 per cent to settle at Rs 3,136.50 per piece, after the company said it has secured an order to supply solar PV modules of up to 1 GW capacity from a domestic firm, which is into renewable energy projects. "Indian equity indices ended on a muted note for the third consecutive session on Monday, with Nifty around 24,600. The Sensex was up by 1.59 points to 81,510, while the Nifty was down by 9 points to settle at 24,610.

"Further, markets are likely to remain subdued ahead of domestic and US inflation readings due later in the week," Ameya Ranadive Chartered Market Technician, CFTe, Sr Technical Analyst, StoxBox. The benchmark index began the trading session on a subdued note, reaching its daily high within the first hour before gradually trending downward for much of the day, Ranadive said. In Asian markets, Tokyo, Shanghai, and Seoul settled higher, while Hong Kong ended in negative territory.

European markets were trading lower. The US markets closed in the red in overnight deals on Monday. Global oil benchmark Brent crude fell 0.17 per cent to USD 72.02 a barrel. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 724.27 crore on Monday, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) offloaded shares worth Rs 1,648.07 crore, according to exchange data.

On Monday, the 30-share BSE Sensex declined 200.66 points to settle at 81,508.46, while NSE Nifty dropped 58.80 points to close at 24,619.

PTI HG BAL MR 12101808 NNNN