FIRST TRADE: Sensex, Nifty subdued at open; Shree Cement tanks 10%, ICICI Securities hits 52-week high

Stock market today: As anticipated, the benchmark indices opened on a muted note on Monday. At the time of writing this news, the S&P BSE Sensex traded 73.46 points, or 0.12 per cent higher at 63,052.83 while the NSE's Nifty was trading at 18,698.70, up 33.20 points, or 0.18 per cent. 

“Dark cloud cover is seen hovering over the Dalal Street and key local benchmark indices could retreat in early trades Monday due to weak global market cues. Intra-day the market may witness a choppy ride as the recent interest rate hike by the BoE and the US Fed hinting at two more rate hikes this year coupled with mounting Chinese growth fears point towards a challenging environment for the global economic recovery path. Technically, the Nifty is likely to gather bullish momentum only above the 18,888 mark while Bank Nifty may see upward momentum only above the 44,000 mark. For Nifty, the support is seen at the 18,555 mark while the biggest support for Bank Nifty is at the 43300 mark," said Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd.

Among Sensex stocks, ITC (up nearly 1.5 per cent) was the top gainer, followed by Hindustan Unilever, and Tata Motors. On the flip side, TCS (down over 0.7 per cent) was the biggest loser. 

BUZZING STOCKS

Shares of Shree Cement tanked 10 per cent in the opening deals after the company shared an update as regards the Income Tax survey proceedings at its premises. It said, "We have gathered that a lot of negative information about the company and its officials is floating in certain sections of the media in connection with the above survey. We would like to clarify that the survey is still going on. The entire management team of the company is available and extending full cooperation to the officials. Any information circulating in the media otherwise is incorrect and has been published without seeking prior inputs from the company."

Besides, ICICI Securities hit a 52-week high of Rs 650 on the BSE after the company said its board will consider delisting equity shares on June 29. 

BROADER MARKET INDICES

The S&P BSE MidCap index traded 0.58 per cent higher at 28,140.81 levels while the S&P BSE SmallCap index was trading 0.51 per cent higher at 32,154.11 points.