Mumbai— Indian equities closed largely unchanged on Thursday as investors adopted a cautious stance ahead of the August 15 meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Sensex ended at 80,597.66, up 57 points or 0.07 percent. The 30-share index opened slightly higher at 80,625.28, compared to the previous close of 80,539.91, and traded in a narrow range throughout the day, hitting an intraday high of 80,751.18 and a low of 80,489.86. The Nifty closed at 24,631.30, up 11.95 points or 0.05 percent.
“After a volatile weekly expiry-day session, Indian equities ended flat as investors traded cautiously ahead of the U.S.–Russia summit. IT and pharma stocks gained on softer U.S. inflation data and a dovish outlook, while banking and consumer durables benefited from hopes of a consumption-led recovery,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.
Metals and energy stocks lagged, weighed down by falling commodity prices and oversupply concerns. Nair noted that S&P’s recent upgrade of India’s credit rating to a stable outlook, citing strong policy continuity and infrastructure-led growth, is expected to support the market in the near term. He anticipates trading to remain range-bound with a mixed bias as geopolitical developments unfold.
Top Sensex gainers included Eternals, Infosys, Asian Paints, HDFC Bank, Bajaj FinServ, Titan, and Maruti Suzuki. Major losers were Tata Steel, Tech Mahindra, BEL, Ultratech Cement, Hindustan Unilever, and HCL Tech.
Sector performance was mixed: Nifty Financial Services rose 95 points, Nifty Bank gained 160 points, and Nifty IT climbed 140 points, while Nifty FMCG fell 353 points and Nifty Auto also closed lower.
In the broader market, Nifty Next 50 slipped 110 points (0.17 percent), Nifty 100 ended flat, Nifty Midcap 100 dropped 177 points (0.31 percent), and Nifty Smallcap 100 declined 66 points (0.38 percent).
The rupee ended at 87.54 against the dollar, down 0.10 percent, as the dollar index held steady at 97.83.
“Markets are closely watching Friday’s meeting between President Trump and President Putin over possible peace talks on the Russia–Ukraine conflict. The rupee is expected to trade in the 87.25–88.00 range,” said Jateen Trivedi of LKP Securities. (Source: IANS)
