Closing call: Nifty, Sensex end on a flat note, IREDA, Hindalco and Airtel shine

After the day’s trade, Nifty closed at 23,455.85 points, down 0.47%. Sensex closed the day at 77,209.90 points, dipping by 0.35%. Amongst the biggest gaining stocks of the day were Bharti Airtel (up by 1.64 %), which closed at Rs 1,403.75, Hindalco (up by 1.11%), which closed at Rs 684 and Shri Ram Finance, which was up by 0.8% to close at Rs 2,827.55.

Ultratech cement (down by 2.42%), Nestle India (down by 1.96%) and Tata Motors (down by 1.87%) lost significant ground, and were amongst the biggest losing stocks of the day. Out of the 2,741 stocks traded during the day, 1,204 saw advances while 1,457 saw declines. 80 remain unchanged. 197 stocks hit their 52-week high, and 9 stocks hit their 52-week low.

99 stocks also hit their upper circuit during today's trade, while 42 hit the lower circuit in today’s session. Except for Nifty Midcap50, which inched up by 0.5%, all broad market indices closed the day in red. Within sectoral indices on Nifty, only IT (up by 0.76%), media (up by 0.95%), metal (up by 0.4%) and consumer durables (up by 0.75%) ended the day in green.

Sectors like FMCG (down by 1.20%), PSU banks (1.14%) and oil and gas (down by 1.07%) registered the biggest fall during the day.
Stocks in action
Tata Power company informed the NSE that CARE Ratings had upgraded their long-term rating from CARE AA/Positive’ to ‘CARE AA+/Stable’. However, the company’s stock ended the day at Rs 438.80, down by 1.09%.

S & P Global Ratings also revised Union Bank’s long-term and short term ratings from stable to BBB and A-3, respectively. The bank’s stock ended the day at Rs 146.70, up by 0.54%.

Powergrid corporation of India announced that it would be augmenting its electric transmission capacities in Indore and Kurnool, along with other measures set to boost its overall efficiency and infrastructure. The stock ended the day at Rs 324.90, up by 0.11%.

CARE Ratings Limited also reviewed the rating of IREDA’s non-convertible debenture (NCD) issue and upgraded the same from CARE AA+ to o CARE AAA. IREDA’s stock closed at Rs 190.10, up by 7.1%.

As Shrikant Chouhan, Head Equity Research, Kotak Securities, notes, broader benchmark indices remained range bound during the day and ended the week on a flat note. However, BSE Small cap index gained 1.5%. Most of the sectoral indices reported negative returns for the week. However, BSE IT and BSE Bankex indices saw positive gains. Indian equities saw buying from FII’s this week.

"On the economy front, India’s goods trade deficit in May 2024 widened due a sharp increase in the oil trade deficit. The market participants will keep an eye on further progress of the monsoon. Food inflation in May 2024 was at 8.7%. Healthy crop outlook would be important towards controlling food inflation. In the near term, the Indian equity market would continue to track domestic macro data and global markets. Going ahead, focus will gradually shift towards budget and Q1FY25 earnings", he further continued.

Hrishikesh Yedve, AVP Technical and Derivatives Research at Asit C. Mehta Investment Intermediates Ltd, highlighted that Nifty opened on a gap up note, but was unable to sustain on higher levels, and settled the day on a negative note at 23,501. Moreover, the index wiped out all the weekly gains and settled the week on a flat note, indicating distribution at higher levels. "As long as the index holds 23,330 levels, bullish momentum will continue, on higher side, 23,700 and 23,800 will act as short term hurdle", he said.

Ajit Mishra – SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd, noted that the markets experienced volatility today, resulting in a slight decrease of nearly half a percent despite mixed signals. Initially showing an upward trend, the Nifty gradually declined in the first half and then fluctuated significantly in the latter half before settling at 23,501.10, marking a decrease of 0.28%. Sector-wise, traders were engaged in a mixed trend. IT and metal sectors saw gains, while FMCG, realty, and auto sectors witnessed declines. The broader indices also saw some profit-taking and closed marginally lower.