Indian equities continued their winning streak for the seventh session in a row even as it ended on a steady note as cautious sentiment took over ahead of the key Fed Chair's address later today. At close, Nifty ended higher near 24,830 levels at 24,823.15, up 0.05 per cent or 11.65 points, while Sensex added 0.04 per cent or 33.02 at 81,086.2 levels.

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Sectorally, it was a sea of red with all the sectors witnessing profit booking at higher levels, barring the Nifty Auto pack which ended in the green after JP Morgan said the 2-wheeler segment will outshine all other segments within the auto industry. 

The brokerage also signalled its bullishness for Bajaj Auto and TVS Motor and likewise their stocks marked a fresh all-time high in trade today.

Nifty FMCG index also marked it fresh 52-week high, nevertheless, the index ended in the red on the back of profit-booking at higher levels.

From within the Nifty pack, top gainers included stocks like Bajaj Auto, Coal India, Tata Motors, Bharti Airtel and Sun Pharma, while laggards from the pack were ONGC, LTIMindtree, Titan, Divi's Labs and Wipro.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services on the markets performance said, "Ahead of the FED chair Powell’s speech, the Indian indices oscillated around the flat trajectory and mixed global market sentiments further catalysed this scenario."

Most of the sectoral indices remained in red; in contrast, the auto sector excelled as the industry is preparing for festive season demand with multiple launches, added Nair.

Shares that gained focus today

UltraTech Cement ended higher by 0.64 per cent at Rs 11,379.95 per share on the BSE. The gains in the stock come as Bernstein maintained its outperform call on the stock.

Nykaa shares ended higher after hitting fresh 52-week high in early trade. The stock settled with gains of 8 per cent at Rs 226.9 per share on the BSE. The shares gained after 1.4 per cent equity changed hands in the counter.

European markets 

Meanwhile, European markets traded with gains, with German DAX leading, even as  as cautious sentiment took over ahead of the Powell's address.

Technicals 

Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst, LKP Securities said, "Nifty experienced another day of lackluster movement. The RSI is showing a bullish crossover, and the trend remains positive as it closed above the 21 EMA. The market seems to favor a "buy on dips" strategy while it stays above 24,650. On the upside, Nifty faces resistance at 24,850-24,900/25,000. On the downside, the index could see a significant correction if it falls below 24,650."