The Indian stock market ended Thursday’s session largely flat as investors adopted a cautious stance ahead of the crucial US-Russia summit scheduled for August 15 between President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.
The BSE Sensex closed at 80,597.66, up 57 points or 0.07 per cent. The 30-share index opened slightly higher at 80,625.28 against the previous session’s close of 80,539.91 and remained range-bound, touching an intra-day high of 80,751.18 and a low of 80,489.86. The Nifty 50 ended at 24,631.30, up 11.95 points or 0.05 per cent.
“After a volatile weekly expiry-day session, Indian equities ended flat as investors traded cautiously ahead of the US-Russia summit. IT and pharma stocks advanced on the back of softer US inflation data and a dovish outlook. Banking and consumer durables also gained on hopes of a consumption-led recovery,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments Limited.
However, metals and energy indices weakened due to falling commodity prices and oversupply concerns. S&P’s recent upgrade of India’s credit rating, citing strong policy continuity and infrastructure-led growth, is expected to support domestic markets. Analysts expect the market to trade in a tight range in the near term, with investors keeping a close watch on upcoming geopolitical developments.
Among Sensex constituents, Eicher Motors, Infosys, Asian Paints, HDFC Bank, Bajaj FinServ, Titan, and Maruti Suzuki were the top gainers. Tata Steel, Tech Mahindra, BEL, Ultratech Cement, Hindustan Unilever, and HCL Tech were among the top losers.
Sectoral trends were mixed. Nifty Financial Services (up 95 points), Nifty Bank (up 160 points), and Nifty IT (up 140 points) ended higher, while Nifty FMCG (down 353 points) and Nifty Auto closed lower. Broader indices followed a similar pattern: Nifty Next 50 fell 110 points (0.17%), Nifty 100 ended flat, Nifty Midcap 100 declined 177 points (0.31%), and Nifty Smallcap 100 dropped 66 points (0.38%).
The rupee ended at 87.54, down 0.10 paise or 0.10 per cent, tracking range-bound movements in the dollar index at 97.83.
“Markets remain watchful ahead of Friday’s key meeting between US President Trump and Russian 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.
-IANS
