Profit booking continues in mkts ahead of Q1 results

Range-bound Session:

• BSE Sensex closed lower by 27.43 pts or 0.03% to 79,897.34
• Sensex climbed 245.32 pts to hit a high of 80,170.09 in early trade, but later hit day’s low of 79,464.38
• NSE Nifty edged down 8.50 pts or 0.03% to 24,315.95
• Nifty gyrated between a high of 24,402.65 and a low of 24,193.75
• FIIs bought equities worth Rs583.96 cr on Wed
• Bajaj Finance, M&M, NTPC, Nestle, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Sun Pharma, Power Grid, UltraTech Cement, Airtel, RIL, L&T declined
• ITC, Tata Motors, Asian Paints and Titan gained

Mumbai: Benchmark Sensex and Nifty closed marginally down in a range-bound session on Thursday as investors booked profits in heavyweights ahead of the announcement of key financial results for the June quarter. Retreating from early highs, the 30-share BSE Sensex closed lower by 27.43 points or 0.03 per cent at 79,897.34. As many as 15 Sensex shares closed with gains, while the rest declined. The index climbed 245.32 points to hit a high of 80,170.09 in early trade, but later lost momentum due to selling in index heavyweights. The barometer hit a day’s low of 79,464.38, down by 460.39 points from the last close. The NSE Nifty edged down 8.50 points or 0.03 per cent to settle at 24,315.95. The broader index gyrated between a high of 24,402.65 and a low of 24,193.75 in day trade. Market capitalisation (mcap) of BSE-listed companies rose by Rs1.15 lakh crore to Rs4,51,20,853.89 cr (Rs451.20 lakh cr or $5.40 trn).

“The main indices are trading in a narrow range, struggling to justify its premium valuation ahead of the Q1 earnings season, which is forecast to be subdued. Attention is now focused on the US inflation data, which is estimated to moderate and positively influence Fed’s interest rate decisions,” said Vinod Nair, head (research), Geojit Financial Services.

Among the indices, realty declined by 1.41 per cent, auto by 0.43 per cent and utilities by 0.19 per cent. Oil & Gas jumped 1.68 per cent, while energy (1.20%), services (1.13%), industrials (0.31%) and telecommunication (0.24%) also advanced.

“After the flat start, the Nifty oscillated in a range and finally settled at 24,315.95 levels. Meanwhile, a mixed trend on the sectoral front kept the traders occupied wherein energy and FMCG ended in the green while realty and pharma closed lower,” added Ajit Mishra, Sr V-P (research), Religare Broking Ltd.

In the broader market, the BSE smallcap gauge climbed 0.57 per cent and midcap index went up by 0.34 per cent. Analysts said the broader market is exhibiting marginal momentum, led by a shift in FIIs inflow and budget expectations.

Among Sensex shares, Bajaj Finance fell the most by 1.48 per cent. Mahindra & Mahindra (1.24 per cent), NTPC (1.14 per cent) and Nestle (1.05 per cent) were also among the major losers. HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Sun Pharma, Power Grid, UltraTech Cement, Bharti Airtel, RIL and Larsen & Toubro also declined.

On the other hand, FMCG major ITC rose the most by 1.64 per cent. Tata Motors, Asian Paints and Titan also gained. TCS gained 0.33 per cent ahead of the release of its quarterly financial results. India’s largest IT services company after market hours reported an 8.7 per cent year-on-year rise in its consolidated net profit at Rs12,040 crore in the first quarter ended June 2024. Its revenue rose by 5.4 per cent year-on-year to Rs62,613 crore for the June quarter.