Sensex, Nifty erase early losses; Analysts eye US-India trade cues

Business Standard

5 days ago

At 11:50 AM, BSE Sensex was trading at 82,469.36, down by over 100 points or 0.12 per cent. Whereas, Nifty was just trading below 25,200 level, down by over 25 points or 0.10 per cent.
Harshita Dudeja New Delhi
Stock market today: Benchmark equity indices erased early losses and continued to trade range-bound after a volatile start to the week. While markets did gain momentum in the previous trading session, D-Street was back in the red on Wednesday.
At 11:50 AM, BSE Sensex was trading at 82,469.36, down by over 100 points or 0.12 per cent. Whereas, Nifty was just trading below 25,200 level, down by over 25 points or 0.10 per cent.
Broader markets also signalled mixed trends. The Nifty Midcap 100 was just marginally up, quoting 59,617. Meanwhile, the Nifty smallcap 100 remained flat, trading at 19,115 level.
Sectorally, Nifty auto was among the worst-performing indices, trading at 23,773, down by 0.55 per cent. Nifty metal followed suit and was down by 0.46 per cent, quoting 9,369. Nifty Media, however, was among the best-performing sectoral indices, up by 1.29 per cent and trading at 1,758. Nifty IT also showcased some strength, experiencing a surge of 0.51 per cent, quoting 37,616.
Top gainers & losers
From the Sensex pack, Tech Mahindra, Adani Ports, Infosys, Asian Paints and SBI were among the top gainers. On the other hand, Eternal (Zomato), Sun Pharma, Mahindra and Mahindra, Tata Steel and Bajaj Finserv were among the top losers.
Shares of HDB Financial Services hit a record low of ₹809.05 after the company reported a drop in profit levels to ₹569 crore in Q1FY25 from ₹582 crore recorded in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal.
Big names in the insurance industry, including HDFC Life, ICICI Lombard and ICICI Prudential, remained in focus after announcing results for the first quarter of the financial year 2025-2026 (Q1FY26). At 12:25 PM, HDFC Life shares were trading at 760.50, marginally up by 0.48 per cent on the National Stock Exchange. Meanwhile, ICICI Lombard shares were trading at 2,025.90, up by 1.16 per cent.
Shares of Dixon Technologies also gained heightened investor attention after the company announced another joint venture (JV), pushing share prices above 3 per cent.
'Wait and watch' mode
Uncertainty on the macroeconomic front continues to weigh on the markets, with analysts seeing limited chances of a breakout in the near term. While surprises on the earnings front or developments in trade tariffs could stir activity, investors largely remain in wait-and-watch mode. As for now, the overall sentiment continues to be cautiously optimistic.
"Given the current environment marked by uncertainty and elevated volatility, traders are advised to adopt a cautious 'wait and watch' approach, particularly with leveraged positions. Booking partial profits on rallies and employing tight trailing stop-losses is recommended," said Aakash Shah, technical research analyst at Choice Equity Broking.
"Fresh long positions can be considered only if Nifty sustains above the 25,250 mark," he added.