Mumbai, Aug 28: Indian equity benchmarks closed flat on Wednesday following market volatility. At the close, the Sensex rose by 73 points, or 0.09 percent, to 81,785. The Nifty gained 34 points, or 0.14 percent, reaching 25,052. IT and pharma stocks supported the overall market. During trading hours, Nifty reached an all-time high of 25,129, compared to the previous high of 25,078.
Sectoral Performance and Market Sentiment
Among sectoral indices, IT, pharma, and healthcare were the major gainers. PSU Bank, energy, and FMCG were the major laggards.
In the Sensex benchmark, top gainers included Wipro, Bharti Airtel, IndusInd Bank, Infosys, Sun Pharma, M&M, Bajaj Finance, JSW Steel, and HCL Tech. Top losers were Asian Paints, Maruti Suzuki, Nestle, Axis Bank, UltraTech Cement, SBI, and Kotak Mahindra Bank.
Market experts noted that consolidation in the US 10-year bond yield and foreign institutional investor (FII) inflows kept domestic market sentiment optimistic. However, they mentioned that valuation remains a near-term concern. Upcoming India Q1 FY25 GDP data could further test market conditions. Investors are focusing on defensive bets, as seen with the strong performance of IT and pharma stocks.
Midcap and Smallcap Stocks Lag Behind
Midcap and smallcap stocks showed weakness compared to largecap stocks. The Nifty midcap 100 index fell by 73 points, or 0.12 percent, to 59,146. The Nifty smallcap 100 index declined by 13 points, or 0.07 percent, to 19,319.
Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities, commented: “Nifty exhibits confusion at higher levels. The index closed flat with wicks on both sides, indicating indecisiveness. A decisive move above 25,100 or a close above this level could signal a further market rally.”
He added, “Otherwise, Nifty might slide lower if sustained buying fails to materialize, potentially triggering selling pressure. Immediate support is at 24,800.”
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