FIRST TRADE: Benchmark indices open flat; Nifty above 19,800, Sensex above 67,000

Stock market today: The domestic equity market opened flat on Thursday, July 20. The NSE Nifty opened above the 19,800 level, while the Sensex held the 67,000 mark. Last seen, the Nifty50 index was trading at 19,830.85, down 2.3 points, while the S&P BSE Sensex was trading at 67,080.99, up 16.45 points.

"Markets may see a steady opening on the back of sluggish cues from global indices. However, without any major negative news, the upward march is likely to continue, although valuations appear to be getting expensive after the gush of foreign flows in the past few months. While the big event of the day will be the demerger of Jio Financial Services from Reliance Industries, the focus will also be on key corporate earnings from Infosys, and Hindustan Unilever, among others. If aggressive buying by foreign investors continues, all eyes will be on the Nifty as it is nearing the crucial 20,000 mark," said Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities.

Broader market 

The Nifty Midcap 100 and Smallcap 100 opened 0.18 per cent higher each.

Sectoral watch

Except for Nifty Auto, FMCG, and IT, all other indices traded in the green. Nifty Bank was up 0.10 per cent at 45,689.05. Nifty Pharma was up 0.41 per cent at 14,137.85, and Nifty Financial Services was flat at 20,369.50.

Buzzing stocks 

Dr Reddy's opened 1 per cent higher after the USFDA completed a Pre-Approval Inspection (PAI) with zero observations. Indigo Paints stock was up over 1 per cent. Olectra Greentech was up over 2 per cent after the company was awarded a contract for the construction of the greenfield electric vehicle manufacturing facility. Apar Industries opened nearly 2 per cent higher.

PNC Infra was up over 4 per cent. Gland Pharma was up over 2 per cent. Conversely, Zensar Technologies was down over 1 per cent ahead of the results, Paytm opened nearly 1 per cent lower, and Graphite India opened over 1 per cent lower.

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