Mid caps, small caps do well as Nifty and Sensex end flat

The Nifty 50 and the Sensex closed flat on Tuesday with shares of select heavyweights such as Reliance Industries, ITC, Hindustan Unilever, HDFC Bank, and Titan as the top drags on them.

However, gains in shares of select blue chips, including Infosys, Larsen and Toubro, and ICICI Bank, saved the indices from losses.

The Nifty 50 closed just 7 points up at 25,017.75, while the Sensex ended 14 points up at 81,711.76.

The mid- and small-cap segments witnessed decent gains. The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices rose half a percent each.

The domestic market benchmarks ended lackluster even as expectations of rate cuts by the US Fed in September remain a positive trigger for the market. Stretched valuations and geopolitical tensions are the key challenges weighing on market sentiment.

"The domestic market witnessed profit-booking near record highs," said Vinod Nair of Geojit Financial Services. "While the positive expectations regarding a potential rate cut by the Fed in September remain, the recent geopolitical tensions and rising crude oil prices have made investors cautious amid high valuations." 

`On account of Janmashtami'

According to Prashanth Tapse of Mehta Equities, the trading session lacked momentum due to weak investor participation on account of Janmashtami and ended almost unchanged from its previous close.

"Weak US market cues and subdued Asian indices prompted local investors to book profit towards the fag-end, indicating that intraday volatility will continue amid growing geopolitical tensions and sluggish global growth,” said Mr Tapse.

The overall market capitalisation of the BSE-listed firms rose to nearly ₹463 lakh crore, and nearly 360 stocks, including HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra, Sun Pharma, Bajaj Auto, IndiGo and Persistent Systems, hit their fresh 52-week highs in intraday trade on BSE.

Among the sectoral indices, Nifty FMCG fell 1.06 percent, followed by Consumer Durables (down 0.64 percent), Metal (down 0.61 percent), and Auto (down 0.11 percent).

Nifty Media gains 4.10%

Nifty Media surged 4.10 percent, ending as the top gainer among sectoral indices.

Nifty Bank closed 0.26 percent higher, while the Private Bank and PSU Bank indices closed with gains of 0.30 percent and 0.04 percent.

According to Shrikant Chouhan of Kotak Securities, the larger market texture is bullish, but a fresh uptrend rally is possible only after the dismissal of 25,100.

"Above 25,100, the market could move up to 25,200-25,225. On the flip side, below 24,950, the selling pressure is likely to accelerate. Below this, the market could retest the level of 24,900-24,850," said Chouhan.

                                                      (By arrangement with livemint.com)