On Wednesday, the Indian equity benchmarks opened flat, facing selling pressure on midcap stocks.
By 9:42 AM, the Sensex had risen by 49 points, or 0.06 percent, to 78,103. Meanwhile, the Nifty had dipped by 11 points, or 0.05 percent, to 23,709.
The Nifty Midcap 100 index dropped by 75 points, or 0.13 percent, to 55,294. Meanwhile, the Nifty Smallcap 100 index increased by 41 points, or 0.23 percent, to 18,284.
Top gainers included UltraTech Cement, ICICI Bank, L&T, Tata Motors, NTPC, Kotak Mahindra, and TCS. Conversely, M&M, Tata Steel, HDFC Bank, JSW Steel, and Sun Pharma emerged as the top losers.
Sector-wise, Auto, PSU Bank, Pharma, Fin Service, FMCG, and Realty indices were the major laggards. Meanwhile, IT, Energy, Media, and Commodity indices saw gains.
Experts noted, “The 16 percent credit growth in the economy and improving asset quality of these stocks augur well for them. Slight pressure on margins due to slow deposit growth and higher costs of deposits are unlikely to impact the bottom line significantly. From the valuation perspective, PSU banks now provide buying opportunities.”
They further commented, “Q1 results of financials, oil and gas, capital goods, automobiles, select pharma, and telecom will be good. FMCG and IT will post subdued numbers as expected.”
Asian markets were mostly bullish, with Tokyo, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Seoul, and Jakarta in the green, while the Shanghai market was in the red. US markets closed mixed on Tuesday.
In commodities, Brent crude stood at $84.64 per barrel, and WTI crude was at $81.25 per barrel.
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