Markets at mid-day session: Nifty, Sensex trade mixed; bank, financials up over 1%

Indian equity benchmarks hit their record highs for the fifth consecutive day today (June 19) tracking the overnight US trade wherein S&P 500 hit its new high after Nvidia pipped Microsoft to become the most valuable company. Nonetheless in mid-day trade, the 30-share BSE Sensex traded higher by 0.09 per cent or 72.47 points at 77,373.61, while the Nifty traded 0.06 per cent or 14.55 points lower at 23,543.35.

Broader markets, however, saw profit booking after nine consecutive days of gains, with Nifty Midcap 100 index down 0.63 per cent at the last count. Meanwhile, the Bank Nifty lent support and last was up by 1.38 per cent or 696.6 at 51,137.5, while in early trade it marked its fresh high of 51,255.95.

Within the Nifty 50 pack, IndusInd Bank, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank are among the top gainers, while laggards included stocks like Titan, Bajaj Auto, Hero MotoCorp, Hindalco and L&T.

Sectorally, auto, pharma, FMCG, metal, realty, consumer durables and oil & gas stocks traded in the red, with the Realty sector leading the losses with a cut of nearly 3 per cent. On the contrary, private banks and financial services emerged as the top sectoral gainers, gaining over 1 per cent each.

Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research) at Mehta Equities believes that the market sentiment is bolstered by increasing bets on a US soft landing and a potential September rate cut by the Federal Reserve.
Technically, Nifty targets are set at 23,750 and 24,000, with critical support at 23,250 and the 200 DMA at 21,268. Options data suggests a trading range of 23,000-24,000, with significant resistance at 24,000 and support at 23,000, he added.

Fertiliser stocks in trade today are up amid a proposal to exclude fertilisers from within the ambit of GST norms. Shares of National Fertilizers Limited (NFL) gained up to 9% to notch a fresh 52-week high of Rs 131.25 in intraday trade today.

Meanwhile, PSU stocks also saw profit booking as the S&P BSE PSU index traded with a cut of over 1 per cent.

Indus Towers shares fell nearly 7 per cent intraday as 19 per cent equity changed hands in the pre-opening block deal window. As per reports, Vodadone Group may be the likely seller.

Shares of Craftsman Automation at around 1 pm traded higher by nearly 4 per cent at Rs 4950 as the company’s QIP has been launched with an approval to issue shares worth around Rs 1,200 crore at a floor price of around Rs 4,426.11 per share. 

Meanwhile, European markets traded lower, with German DAX and French CAC indices down up to 0.36 per cent, even as inflation in May in the UK dropped to the Bank of England's  target for the first time since July 2021.