Stock market today: Sensex, Nifty 50 close flat; realty shines, PSU banks drag; all eyes on MSCI review

Stock market today: Domestic benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty 50 ended Monday's session flat amid mixed global cues.

On Monday afternoon, the Sensex and Nifty 50 gained back all of the ground they had lost earlier and continued to rise due to encouraging trends in international stocks and new inflows of foreign money.

The benchmark indices had fallen in early trading as investors were wary of possible disruptions stemming from the US short-seller Hindenburg Research report about the SEBI chairman and her spouse's unreported involvement in obscure offshore funds located in Bermuda and Mauritius.

The 30-share BSE Sensex ended lower by 56.99 points or 0.07% at 79,648.92 level while the Nifty 50 closed at 24,347.00 level, down 20.50 points or 0.08%.

On the broader market front, the Nifty Midcap 100 closed up 0.27%, while the Nifty SmallCap 100 closed 0.19% higher, both outperforming benchmark indices. The fear gauge index, the India VIX closed 3.47% higher on Monday.

According to Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, the Adani-Hindenburg-SEBI drama continued to overshadow the Indian market's early trajectory, resulting in a rather flat finish. But the market, adopting signals from international markets, attempted to ignore these sounds.

“Moreover, the domestic market is anticipating ease in CPI inflation, which is going to be further supported by a good monsoon. Yet, the upside risk remains, given firm oil prices and volatility in food inflation,” said Nair.

Tonight, August 12, the MSCI India Standard Index rebalancing announcement is scheduled. As of August 30, 2024, at the latest, all index modifications will be implemented. Eight firms, including Dixon Technologies, Cochin Shipyard, and Vodafone Idea, are anticipated to be included to the MSCI India Standard Index at its August rebalance. Investors would be closely monitoring them as well.

Global Markets

A at ease trading day on Monday saw most Asian equities rise ahead of this week's major reports on the status of the US economy, according to an AP news report. US futures were higher and oil prices were rising.

The Shanghai Composite index fell 0.1% to 2,858.20, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng increased by 0.1% to 17,111.65 Tokyo and Bangkok's markets were closed on holidays. The Kospi increased 1.2% to 2,618.30 in Seoul.

Top Nifty 50 Gainers and Losers

As many as 19 stocks settled in the green in the Nifty 50 index while the rest 30 ended in red.

Shares of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd (up 2.59%), Hero MotoCorp Ltd (up 2.15%), Axis Bank Ltd (up 1.80%), JSW Steel Ltd (up 1.53%) and Divi's Laboratories Ltd (up 1.46%) ended as top gainers. On the other side, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (down 2.33%), NTPC Ltd (down 2.16%), Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd (down 1.76%), Britannia Industries Ltd (down 1.59%), and Adani Enterprises Ltd (down 1.46%) were among the laggards.

Sectoral indices today

On the sectoral front, Nifty Realty, Metal, Oil & Gas, Consumer Durable, IT ended in while PSU Banks, Auto, FMCG, and Media ended in red. Nifty Pharma ended flat.

Technical Views

Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst, LKP Securities stated that Nifty 50 remained volatile throughout the day before closing flat. The sentiment is sideways to weak, with the index closing below the 21-day EMA. The RSI is in a bearish crossover, indicating weak momentum. The market might continue to be a sell-on-rise as long as it stays below 24,500. On the lower end, support is placed at 24,150.

“The Bank Nifty was clearly an outperforming sector as compared to Nifty 50 in today’s trading session. However, it is showing a lot of resilience around 50,700-50,900 levels on an immediate basis and we need to witness a decisive close above 51,100 Mark for further strength in Bank Nifty. On the downside, the support zone lies at 50,300-350 / 49,650-700 while the resistance is seen at 50,700 / 51,000-100,” said Tejas Shah, Technical Research, JM Financial & BlinkX.

Experts' Views on Markets

Prashanth Tapse, Research Analyst, Senior Vice President of Research at Mehta Equities believies that the focus shifts to today's CPI inflation numbers for July.

The recent allegations by Hindenburg Research against the chairperson of India's market regulator, Madhabi Puri Buch, could rattle positive sentiments.

Technically speaking, 24,630 is now a key hurdle that needs to be captured for bulls to completely declare their victory. Key intraday support now seen at 24,200, according to Tapse.

Disclaimer: The views and recommendations above are those of individual analysts, experts and broking companies, not of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decision.