Sensex, Nifty end flat ahead of US Fed rate decision

An ease in the US personal consumption expenditure to 2.5% and the subsequent drop in the US 10-year yield have fuelled optimism that the Fed might cut rates in September, leading to a global rally. However, profit-booking was triggered in the domestic market given trading in the overbought territory and closed flat, said Vinod Nair, head (research), Geojit Financial Services

Profit Booking:

• FIIs bought equities worth Rs2,546.38 cr on Friday
• BSE Sensex closed higher by 23.12 pts or 0.03% at 81,355.84
• Sensex jumped 575.71 pts or 0.70% to new intra-day record peak of 81,908.43
• NSE Nifty ended up 1.25 pts or 0.01% at all-time closing high of 24,836.10
• During the day, Nifty surged 164.9 pts or 0.66% to fresh peak of 24,999.75

Mumbai: Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty hit intra-day record high levels before closing almost flat on Monday due to profit-taking in FMCG and IT shares by cautious investors ahead of the key US Fed interest rate decision later this week.

The 30-share BSE Sensex closed higher by 23.12 points or 0.03 per cent at 81,355.84 -- its all-time closing high -- with 16 of its components advancing and 14 ending lower. The index opened higher and jumped 575.71 points or 0.70 per cent to hit a new intra-day record peak of 81,908.43 in late morning deals following a decline in US bond yields. However, investors preferred to book profits at record high levels amid high volatility dragging the index lower to close flat. The NSE Nifty ended marginally up 1.25 points or 0.01 per cent at an all-time closing high of 24,836.10. During the day, it surged 164.9 points or 0.66 per cent to hit a fresh lifetime peak of 24,999.75.

“An ease in the US personal consumption expenditure to 2.5 per cent and the subsequent drop in the US 10-year yield have fuelled optimism that the Fed might cut rates in September, leading to a global rally. However, profit-booking was triggered in the domestic market given trading in the overbought territory and closed flat,” said Vinod Nair, head (research), Geojit Financial Services.

In the broader market, the BSE smallcap gauge jumped 1.17 per cent and the midcap index climbed 0.80 per cent. The BSE smallcap index hit its all-time high level during the day.

“Mixed global cues and the underperformance of major banks are causing an intermediate pause in the index,” added Ajit Mishra, Sr V-P (research), Religare Broking Ltd.

Among the indices, capital goods surged 2.73 per cent, industrials rallied 2.33 per cent, realty (1.51 per cent), oil & gas (1.17 per cent), energy (0.96 per cent) and power (0.76 per cent). IT, telecommunication, utilities and teck were the laggards.

“Nifty ended almost flat after a volatile session. Asian stocks started the week with gains ahead of central bank policy meetings in the US, the UK and Japan,” said Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities.

From the Sensex pack, Larsen & Toubro rose the most by 2.77 per cent after it announced bagging new large orders worth Rs2,500 crore to Rs5,000 crore.

UltraTech Cement, which announced the acquisition of 32.72 per cent stake in India Cements from promoters and their associates for Rs3,954 crore, closed up 1.42 per cent. India Cements closed lower by 0.65 per cent.

Bajaj Finserv, Mahindra & Mahindra, State Bank of India, IndusInd Bank, Reliance Industries and Sun Pharma were among the biggest gainers.