Indian Equity Indices Close With Marginal Gains Ahead Of US Fed Meeting

Indian equity indices saw marginal gains on Tuesday as investors focused on the upcoming US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) policy meeting.

At the close, the Sensex was up 90 points, or 0.11%, at 83,079. The Nifty rose 34 points, or 0.14%, to 25,418. Despite the gains, midcap and smallcap stocks experienced selling pressure.

Midcap and Smallcap Indices Decline

The Nifty Midcap 100 index fell by 79 points, or 0.13%, to 60,180. The Nifty Smallcap 100 index dropped 72 points, or 0.37%, to 19,465. In the Sensex pack, top gainers included Bharti Airtel, NTPC, M&M, Titan, L&T, Kotak Mahindra Bank, HUL, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finance, UltraTech Cement, Sun Pharma, and HCL Tech.

Conversely, Tata Motors, JSW Steel, Tata Steel, Power Grid, ITC, Asian Paints, Bajaj Finserv, Maruti Suzuki, SBI, HDFC Bank, and Axis Bank were among the top losers.

Sectoral Trends and Market Outlook

Among sectoral indices, PSU Bank, pharma, metal, and media sectors experienced the most declines. Auto, IT, financial services, FMCGs, realty, and energy sectors showed the most positive contributions.

The market trend was negative overall. Out of 4,058 shares traded, 2,241 closed lower, 1,709 closed higher, and 108 remained unchanged.

Market experts noted that the Indian market showed subtle positive momentum, driven by expectations of a US Fed rate cut. While a 25-bps cut is largely anticipated, investors remain attentive to the Fed’s comments on economic health and future rate cuts. Robust institutional flows also supported the domestic market.

Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities, commented, “The Nifty is consolidating near its all-time high with trendline resistance. A breakout from the current range could provide direction. Immediate support is at 25,350, and a drop below this level might trigger a correction towards 25,000.”

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