The benchmark indices traded in a narrow range, even paring some early gains, with the Nifty 50 facing stiff resistance near the 19,350-19,370 zone as of noon on August 29. A similar tepid move was seen across most sectors, barring metals and realty names which saw strong buying.
The lacklustre action in the market also mirrored a similar trend across global markets that posted modest gains. Around noon, the Sensex was up 61.04 points, or 0.09 percent, at 65,057.64, and the Nifty was up 29.50 points, or 0.15 percent, at 19,335.50. About 1,899 shares advanced, 1,141 declined and 114 were unchanged.
Most analysts also pegged an intraday resistance of around 19,350 for the Nifty 50 as only a decisive move above that level can trigger a further uptick towards 19,400-19,450.
“We feel it is a breather after the recent fall and traders should continue with negative bias in the index. At the same time, a mixed trend on the sectoral front would continue to offer opportunities on both sides, so participants should focus on stock selection and maintain a hedged approach,” said Ajit Mishra, SVP – Technical Research, Religare Broking.
Stocks and sectors
Sectors like pharma and PSU banks which were the top gainers in the previous session fell prey to profit booking. While the Nifty Pharma index was marginally down, the Nifty PSU index slipped 0.5 percent.
On the other hand, metal counters saw strong buying, with Hindalco gaining over 2 percent to emerge at the top of the gainers list on the Nifty50. The Nifty Metal index was up over 1 percent, the best performing sectoral index in today’s session.
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Shares of UPL also rose over 2 percent following positive comments from foreign brokerage HSBC which sees a possible recovery for the company in Q3 given the visible signs of reducing inventories and stabilising prices.
Among losers, Bharti Airtel was the worst hit among blue-chip stocks, down 1.5 percent following large deals in the counter. Around 1.1 crore shares, representing 0.2 percent equity, worth Rs 922.8 crore changed hands at an average price of Rs 852.9 per share on the bourses.
A block deal involving 1.5 percent equity in APL Apollo Tubes also took place on the bourses which pushed the stock 3 percent lower. Even though Moneycontrol could not immediately ascertain the parties involved in the transaction, CNBC-TV18 had earlier reported that the promoter of the company was looking to pare some stake.
Small and mid-cap stocks fared better than their large-cap peers for yet another session. The Nifty Midcap 100 rose 0.4 percent while the Nifty Smallcap 100 was up 0.6 percent.
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Read More: Mid-day Mood | Indices move in narrow range amid tepid buying; metals, realty