Indian equity indices closed on a marginally higher note, after giving up the record highs that they touched in early trade on Thursday. The Nifty 50 hit a new all-time high of 24,401, surpassing the psychological level of 24,400. However, the index later closed 15.65 points or 0.06% higher, than its previous close, at 24,302.
Similarly, the BSE Sensex touched a new record high of 80,392.64. Giving up those record gains, Sensex closed 62.87 points or 0.08% higher, than the previous close, at 80,049.67. HCL Technologies, ICICI Bank, Tata Motors, Sun Pharma, and Infosys were the major gainers in the Nifty 50 on Thursday.
Bank Nifty rose 14.45 points or 0.03% higher at 53,103. Outperforming the overall market, Nifty Midcap 100 jumped 325.30 points or 0.58% closing the day’s trading at 56,618.60. In the broader markets, smallcap and midcap stocks closed in the green.
Sectoral draggers
Among the sectoral indices, Nifty FMCG, Consumer Durables, and Metal weighed on the markets. However, the Nifty IT, Healthcare, and Pharma supported the markets.
Expert’s take
“The markets traded within a narrow range and ended nearly unchanged, pausing after Wednesday’s gains. After an initial rise, the Nifty fluctuated throughout the day and settled near its lowest point at 24,306.55. Sector-wise, there was a mixed trend with pharmaceuticals, IT, and automotive sectors seeing moderate gains, while FMCG and metals remained subdued. The broader indices performed better than the benchmark, each gaining about half a per cent,” said Ajit Mishra, Senior Vice President of Research at Religare Broking.
“The Nifty has approached its immediate target of 24,500 and appears slightly overextended. It would be prudent to take some profits and wait for a potential dip before considering new long positions in the index. Meanwhile, the broader market strength and specific sectoral buying opportunities suggest that traders should focus more on stock selection and utilize dip/consolidation to add quality names,” said Mishra.
“Benchmark Sensex steadily pared gains after scaling to a new lifetime high in early trades but managed to close above the 80k mark for the first time due to selective buying in banking and IT stocks. While the market is in an overbought zone, investors would rather wait for Budget to throw positive surprises before taking an aggressive stance,” said Prashanth Tapse, Senior Vice President of Research at Mehta Equities.
Bank Nifty
“Bank Nifty closed marginally in the green however well off the intraday highs. The daily and hourly momentum indicators have a negative crossover which is a sell signal. Thus, we expect the Bank Nifty to consolidate in the range of 53400 – 52000 from a short-term perspective,’ said Jatin Gedia, Technical Research Analyst at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas.