Indian Equity Market Opens Flat As Sensex, Nifty Struggle For Direction

The Indian equity market began Wednesday’s session on a subdued note, with both key benchmarks moving only marginally in early hours of trade.

The Sensex edged up by 12 points to 85,151, while the Nifty slipped 18 points to 26,014, reflecting a largely listless opening.

A broad set of frontline stocks weighed on sentiment.

Counters such as HUL, Titan, Tata Motors PV, NTPC, BEL, Trent, Bajaj Finserv, Kotak Bank, Ultratech Cement, Maruti Suzuki, L&T, Power Grid and ITC were among the notable laggards, holding the indices in a narrow range.

Gains in select heavyweights, however, helped contain losses.

TCS, Infosys, Eternal, HCL Tech, Axis Bank, Tech Mahindra and Adani Ports were trading higher, offering some stability in the softer market tone.

Beyond the benchmarks, mid- and small-cap shares displayed relative strength.

The Nifty MidCap index ticked up 0.02 per cent, while the Nifty SmallCap index added 0.08 per cent after recovering from an early dip.

Information technology and pharmaceutical stocks outperformed, supported by the Indian rupee touching a new low.

Companies in these sectors typically earn a substantial share of their revenue in US dollars, while they incur most of their costs in rupees, so currency weakness directly boosts their margins.

As a result, the Nifty IT index advanced 0.7 per cent, and the Nifty Pharma index rose 0.3 per cent.

Conversely, PSU banks came under pressure, with the Nifty PSU Bank index declining 0.6 per cent.

Analysts noted that markets remained confined to a tight band as global signals remained mixed and the softer currency shaped investor mood.

“The ideal strategy for investors in this period of uncertainty is to remain invested in high-quality growth stocks in the large and midcap segments. Smallcaps, as a segment, continues to be overvalued and are, therefore, best avoided,” they advised.