Stock market closing: Sensex, Nifty close in green with marginal gains, Titan, NTPC, BPCL amongst top gainers

Sensex and Nifty closed the day with marginal gains, with Nifty inching up 0.09% to close at 24,857.30 points, while Sensex rose around 99 points to close at 81,455.40 points.

Tata Motors (up by 3.38%), NTPC (up by 3.24%), BPCL (up by 3.08%), Power Grid Corporation of India (up by 2.09%) and Titan (up by 1.77%) were amidst the top gainers. On the other hand, LTI Mindtree (down by 2.07%), SBI Life (down by 1.67%), Cipla (down by 1.61%), Grasim (down by 1.57%) and Sun Pharma (down by 1.47%) were amongst the leading laggards.

Except for India VIX and Nifty Next50, all other broad market indices closed the day in green. As for sectoral indices, FMCG, IT, pharma, PSU bank and healthcare indices closed the day in red. FMCG dipped by over 1%, while consumer durables jumped by 1.12% during the day's trade.

Out of the 2,784 stocks traded during the day, 1,597 saw advances, while 1,112 saw declines. Another 75 remained unchanged. 220 stocks hit their 52-week high, while 19 stocks hit their 52-week low. 159 stocks remained in the lower circuit during the day, while 38 stocks hit the lower circuit during today's trading session.

Ajit Mishra – SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd notes that the market traded volatile for yet another session and ended nearly unchanged. After a flat start, the Nifty gradually inched higher for most of the session; however, sharp profit-taking in the final hours trimmed all the gains.

"Meanwhile, a mixed trend continued on the sectoral front, with energy, auto, and realty performing well, while FMCG and pharma lagged slightly. The broader indices continued to attract buying interest, helping market breadth to end on the advancing side. Rotational participation from the heavyweights is maintaining a positive tone amid consolidation, and we expect this prevailing trend to continue. We are targeting 25,100 in the Nifty and suggest focusing on accumulating quality stocks on dips", he continued.

As per Aditya Gaggar, director of Progressive Shares, "Broader markets extended their streak of outperformance as Mid and Smallcaps advanced further with gains of 0.45% & 0.86% respectively. Nifty50 has made a DOJI candlestick pattern which indicates an indecisiveness between the bulls and bears. A psychological level of 25,000 will continue to act as a strong barrier while immediate support is placed at 24,800 followed by 24,660".

Osho Krishan, Senior Analyst - Technical & Derivatives, Angel One Ltd highlights that the Indian equity markets opened the session steadily, drawing insights from mixed global cues. The benchmark index gradually gained momentum post the initial opening hour and made strides towards the last swing high. However, the bears made a comeback at the highs, leading to a modest correction. Despite multiple efforts, the bulls were unable to challenge the record high, and the day ultimately concluded on a flat note.

"Technically, the 25,000 milestone withholds the daunting task for the bulls, and a sustainable breakthrough could only direct the next leg of the rally in the index. On the lower end, 24,600 is likely to be seen as intermediate support, followed by the sacrosanct demand at the 24500 zone in the comparable period. The advance-decline ratio continues to highlight the dominance of the bulls, particularly in the mid and small-cap segments, which bodes well for market sentiments. Thus, one needs to focus on such themes for having an outperformance while the key indices are witnessing some timidness at their pivotal zones", continued Krishan.