Stock market today: Domestic blue-chip indices Nifty50 and Sensex, after opening in negative territory, traded in a tight range on Monday, March 18, and eventually ended with mild gains ahead of key central bank policy decisions due this week.

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Buying in oil & gas and auto shares and index heavyweights such as RIL, Tata Steel, and Mahindra & Mahindra countered selling in information technology (IT) stocks. Both Infosys and TCS slipped nearly 2 per cent.

The Nifty index ended 32.35 points, or 0.15 per cent, higher at 22,055.7, and the Sensex settled with a gain of 104.99 points, or 0.14 per cent, at 72,748.42. Meanwhile, Nifty Bank settled near the flatline, down 0.04 per cent or 18.2 points at 46,575.9.

"The Indian market followed its positive Asian peers with a mixed bias. Domestic issues, like mutual fund stress tests, hardly brought any negative views, but premium valuation remains a concern," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services, said.

Tata Steel, Mahindra & Mahindra, JSW Steel, and Tata Motors, closing with gains in the range of around 3-5 per cent, were the top Nifty50 gainers. On the other hand, UPL, Infosys, Tata Consumer Products, and TCS were the worst hit among the seven laggards in the blue-chip pack.

Broader indices Nifty Smallcap 100 and Nifty Midcap 100 underperformed the headline gauges, finishing 0.57 per cent and 0.39 per cent lower, respectively.

"Midcaps and small caps are attempting to scroll up; however, consolidation persists. Both DII and FII inflows are strong for large caps, hence sustaining their outperformance," Nair added. 

"Policy actions this week from global central banks, the US FED, BOJ, and BOE will dictate the market direction. Indications by the Fed that the rate cut may happen probably in the latter half of CY24 should bring mixed sentiment in the short term," the expert further said. 

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