Sensex, Nifty flat at open; Broader market sees red

The stock market opened flat on Wednesday, March 26, with major indices showing minimal movement. At 9:15 am, the BSE Sensex rose 19.85 points (0.03%) to 78,037.04, while the NSE Nifty edged up 1.20 points (0.01%) to 23,669.85.

Among Sensex stocks, Power Grid Corporation led gains by rising 1.27% to ₹294.85. Bajaj Finserv followed with a 0.90% increase to ₹1,963.55, while IndusInd Bank gained 0.69%, trading at ₹641.70. However, 14 of the 30 Sensex stocks traded in the red.

In sectoral performance, the Nifty Financial Services Ex-Bank Index rose the most by 0.20% to 26,470.45. Nifty Auto followed with a 0.18% gain to 21,776.60, while the Nifty Financial Services 25/50 Index increased 0.14% to 26,828.75.

Meanwhile, the Nifty IT Index dropped 0.29% to 37,599.40, leading sectoral declines. Nifty PSU Bank fell 0.24% to 6,201.80, while both Nifty Consumer Durables and Nifty Healthcare slid 0.16%, reaching 35,624.75 and 13,932.25, respectively. This drop contrasts with the previous day’s 0.96% rise in the IT Index.

On Tuesday, the benchmark indices closed in the green for the seventh consecutive session. The BSE Sensex gained 32.81 points (0.04%) to close at 78,017.19, while the NSE Nifty added 10.30 points (0.04%) to finish at 23,668.65.

Akshay Chinchalkar, Head of Research at Axis Securities, noted that the Nifty gave up most of its intraday gains. He warned that a drop below 23,402 could shift the market’s near-term bias toward bearish sentiment.

UltraTech Cement led Tuesday’s Sensex gains, rising 3.41% to ₹11,428.05. Bajaj Finserv followed with a 2.71% increase to ₹1,946.10, while Infosys climbed 2.48% to ₹1,631.70. In contrast, Zomato dropped 5.79% to ₹209.80, making it the biggest loser. IndusInd Bank fell 4.76% to ₹637.30, while Adani Ports declined 1.44% to ₹1,183.30.

In the Nifty sectoral indices, the Consumer Durables Index fell the most, dropping 1.93% to 35,680.35. The Nifty PSU Bank Index declined 1.73% to 6,216.95, while the Nifty Media Index fell 1.59% to 1,524.

Dixon Technologies dropped 7.12%, leading losses in the Nifty Consumer Durables Index. Rajesh Exports fell 5.38%, while Kalyan Jewellers India declined 4.26%. In the PSU Bank Index, Central Bank of India dropped 4.99%, followed by UCO Bank (4.40%) and Indian Overseas Bank (3.98%).

The Nifty IT Index saw Persistent Systems rise 2.59%, followed by Coforge at 2.26% and MphasiS at 1.69%. Axis Bank led the Nifty Private Bank Index with a 1.02% increase, followed by HDFC at 0.89% and RBL Bank at 0.03%.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) continued buying, netting ₹5,371.57 crore in Indian equities. Meanwhile, Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) sold ₹2,768.87 crore worth of stocks.

Kunal Kamble, Senior Technical Research Analyst at Bonanza, noted that Nifty broke 23,800 but failed to sustain gains. He expects profit booking to dominate the market’s first half, with buying likely to resume later in the day.