Indian equities ended a volatile session almost unchanged on Thursday as investors refrained from taking aggressive positions ahead of the Reserve Bank of India's monetary policy decision on Friday. Concerns over rising crude oil prices, inflationary pressures arising from the US-Iran conflict and continued tensions in West Asia also weighed on sentiment.
The Sensex closed marginally higher by 14 points at 74,360, while the Nifty 50 added 11 points to settle at 23,417. Despite the subdued headline indices, broader markets outperformed, with the Nifty Midcap 100 rising 0.46 percent and the Nifty Smallcap 100 gaining 0.49 percent.
Market participants largely stayed on the sidelines ahead of the RBI's policy announcement, which is expected to provide clues on interest rates, inflation and economic growth. Elevated crude oil prices and uncertainty in global markets kept risk appetite in check, although buying in select heavyweight stocks prevented a deeper decline.
Among Nifty stocks, Titan emerged as the biggest gainer, climbing 3.7 percent after positive commentary during its analyst meeting. Eternal advanced 3 percent, while Cipla, Coal India, Adani Enterprises and ITC gained between 1 and 2 percent.
On the losing side, Infosys declined 1.5 percent and was the worst performer among Nifty constituents. Hindalco, SBI Life Insurance, Bajaj Finserv and UltraTech Cement also ended lower.
Sectoral performance remained mixed. The Nifty Media index surged 2.19 percent to become the best-performing sector of the day. PSU banks, healthcare and pharma stocks also attracted buying interest.
Metal and IT indices were the only major losers, falling 0.73 percent and 0.29 percent respectively.
Nineteen stocks gained more than 10 percent during the session. Zee Entertainment, Zee Learn, ITDC, Panacea Biotec, MSTC and Kwality Wall's India were among the notable gainers.
Among the major losers, GICL plunged 15.6 percent, while JHS Svendgaard Retail Ventures fell nearly 15 percent. Meesho, Zensar Technologies, Delta Corp and NALCO also witnessed sharp declines.
Vodafone Idea was the most actively traded stock on the NSE, with more than 86 crore shares changing hands. Ola Electric, GTL Infrastructure, IFCI and Suzlon Energy were also among the most-traded counters.
Market breadth remained positive. On the NSE, 1,817 stocks advanced against 1,474 declines, while 105 remained unchanged.
As many as 103 stocks touched fresh 52-week highs, including CG Power, Federal Bank, HFCL, Vodafone Idea and ideaForge Technology. In contrast, 56 stocks hit 52-week lows, including ITC, Praveg, Patanjali Foods and Go Digit General Insurance.
Analysts expect markets to remain range-bound until the RBI's policy outcome is announced. Traders will closely monitor the central bank's commentary on interest rates, inflation and growth amid a challenging global environment.
Technically, Nifty faces immediate resistance in the 23,550-23,700 zone. A sustained move above these levels could trigger fresh buying, while a fall below 23,150 may revive the recent corrective trend. For now, stock-specific action is likely to dominate trading as investors await policy clarity.
