Sensex and Nifty closed the day in green, albeit with minimal gains. While Sensex closed the day at 79,105.88 points, up by 149.85 points, Nifty closed at 24,143.75 points, inching up by 0.02% on August 14th, 2024.
TCS (up by 2.29%), HCL Tech (up by 1.96%), Tech Mahindra (up by 1.47%), Infosys (up by 1.25%), and Mahindra and Mahindra (up by 1.16%) were amidst the day's gainers. On the other hand, Divis Labs (down by 4.03%), Hero Moto Corp (down by 3.17%), Coal India (down by 3%), UltraTech Cement (down by 2.35%) and Dr. Reddy's (down by 2.14%) were amidst the day's top laggards.
Out of the 2,798 stocks traded during the day, 1,073 saw advances, while 1,644 declined. Another 81 remained unchanged. 66 stocks hit their 52-week high price during the day, while 49 stocks also hit their 52-week low prices. 88 stocks hit the upper circuit during the day, while 109 stocks remained in the lower circuit.
Aditya Gaggar, director of Progressive Shares noted that the market's lacklustre trade ended marginally higher at 24,143.75. "Barring IT and Auto, all other sectors ended the day in red with metal and media being the major laggards. Broader markets underperformed the frontline index as mid and small caps ended the session with a loss of over 0.50%. Nothing has changed i.e. the index remained in its well-maintained range of 23,970-24,400, awaiting a breakout on either side", he continued.
Most small and mid cap indices ended the day in red, while India VIX dipped 4.40% during the day. Nifty Next 50 and Nifty 100 were the only broad market indices that closed the day in green. Amidst sectoral indices, IT inched up by over 1%, while media and metal lost over 1% each during the trade.
Said Ajit Mishra – SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd, "The markets remained lackluster and closed flat, taking a pause after Tuesday’s decline. Following a subdued start, the Nifty traded within a narrow range and ultimately ended at the 24,143 level. Sector-wise, metal and pharma stocks were the top losers, while resilience in the IT sector helped limit the overall decline for the second consecutive session. The broader indices also slipped, losing over half a percent each".
"With no major domestic triggers, participants are now looking to global markets for direction. An intermediate recovery in the US markets is providing some relief, but ongoing pressure in select heavyweight stocks across sectors is limiting the recovery. In light of the uncertain outlook, we recommend maintaining a cautious stance and adopting a hedged approach until there is more clarity on the market’s next move", continued Mishra.
