The Indian stock market performed a lacklustre trading on Thursday. The fears of global recession and slowdown in the US and Chinese economy weighed on investors’ sentiments.
The National Stock Exchange (NSE) Nifty 50 index 0.21 per cent lower at 25,145, while the S&P Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex also settled 151 points or 0.18 per cent lower at 82,201 levels on the closing bell.
Nifty Moves
In the Nifty 50 index, 18 stocks advanced in the positive territory, while 32 stocks ended in the red territory.
Among the winners Titan surged more than 3 per cent to top the index followed by more than 1 per cent gain in LTI Mindtree and Wipro. BPCL, ITC and Hero Motocorp also gained almost 1 per cent.
Among the losers, Cipla and Reliance Industries shredded 1.46 per cent and 1.42 per cent respectively. Dr Reddy, Coal India, Britannia, Nestle and Tata Motors also lost more than 1 per cent.
Analyst Note
“Markets ended weak in a volatile trading session led by profit-taking in Reliance Industries. Globally, most of the equity indices were sluggish to mixed and are awaiting key US data on Friday, which would provide some hint on the Federal Reserve chief's likely stance on the interest rate in this month's policy announcement,” said Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities.
“The benchmark indices continued to trade with minor losses due to concern of slowdown in the US and Chinese economy. The market is now seeking new catalysts, particularly in how the Fed evaluates the challenge of achieving a soft landing. Meanwhile, the broader market outperformed, benefiting from positive service PMI data that suggests supportive domestic economic conditions,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.
Sectoral Movement
In terms of sectoral performance, Nifty Bank ended 0.14 per cent higher and Financial Services moved 0.11 per cent higher, while PSU Banks ended with 0.32 per cent gain.
Realty led losses with nearly 1 per cent dip followed by 0.38 per cent weakness in Auto and 0.39 per cent marginal losses in Pharma and FMCG. However, IT gained around half a per cent.
The more domestically focussed indices, Mid-cap climbed 0.38 per cent, whereas Small-cap surged 1 per cent.