Midday market update: Bullish opening turns bearish; Nifty, Sensex in the red
The equity markets initially demonstrated a bullish trend at the Thursday opening, only to experience a swift downturn in the afternoon. Both the Nifty and the Sensex recorded losses during mid-market trading, shifting the indices negative.
The NSE Nifty was down by 0.19 per cent or 37.45 points to 20,059, while the BSE Sensex slipped down by 0.25 per cent or 165.89 points to 66,736. A total of 3,748 stocks were traded on the BSE, of which 1,805 advanced, while 1,781 declined and 162 stocks remained unchanged. As many as 290 stocks hit a 52-week high and 15 stocks hit a 25-week low at 1 pm on Thursday.
Shrey Jain, Founder and CEO, SAS Online – India’s Deep Discount Broker, said, “The market is starting the day with a subdued yet cautious tone following yesterday’s impressive trading session. As we approach today’s expiry, there’s an anticipation that the Nifty’s positive momentum will persist, propelling it towards the 20250 levels.”
He further added, “Notably, the 20,000 Put strike on the downside holds substantial Open Interest (OI), expected to serve as a limiting factor against potential declines. In Bank Nifty, a narrow trading range was sustained, with 43,500 serving as a pivotal level. Additionally, for the monthly settlement, there is noteworthy option writing observed at both the Put 43,500 and Call 44,000 strikes.”
Major gainers on the BSE include India Cements, The New India Assurance Company, Camlin Fine Sciences, Great Eastern Shipping Co, and Latent View Analytics with gains ranging from 7.90 per cent to 5.64 per cent. Major losers on the BSE include Cressanda Solutions, Aster DM Healthcare, Aether Industries, and Sterlite Technologies with losses ranging from 4.89 per cent to 2.82 per cent.
BSE MidCap (0.35 per cent) and BSE SmallCap (0.45 per cent) indicated gains.
Stocks that hit a 52-week high on the NSE include 63 moons technologies, Ahluwalia Contracts (India) Limited, 360 ONE WAM Limited, Ajanta Pharma Limited, and Alkem Laboratories Limited.
Stocks that hit a 52-week low on the NSE include Aether Industries Limited, Blue Jet Healthcare Limited, Bohra Industries Limited, Fedbank Financial Services Limited, and Gandhar Oil Refinery (India) Limited.
“Overall market sentiments remain optimistic, driven by a consistent trend of Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) turning buyers for five consecutive days, coupled with aggressive buying from Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs),” said Shrey Jain.