Nifty, Sensex open flat; IT, pharma stocks rally

Mumbai, Aug 14 The Indian benchmark indices opened flat on Thursday, as IT and pharma stocks showed considerable gains.

The BSE Sensex advanced 0.15 per cent to 80,657 points. The Nifty 50 inched up to 24,638, up 21 points or 0.08 per cent.

Among the broader market indices BSE SmallCap added 0.12 per cent and the BSE MidCap climbed 0.30 per cent.

Sectorally, Nifty Metal lost 1.05 per cent while Nifty IT and Nifty Pharma surged 0.76 per cent and 0.93 per cent, respectively. The majority of other indices were mixed.

In the Nifty pack, Infosys led the gainers, surging 1.29 per cent, followed by HDFC Life, Wipro, Adani Ports, and Apollo Hospitals. Among laggards, Tata Steel declined 1.22 per cent, followed by ONGC, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Hindalco.

The market will be in a wait-and-watch mode looking for clues from the Donald Trump-Vladimir Putin summit and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Independence Day message, said analysts.

From the technical perspective, the market is oversold, and short-positions are high. Any positive news that triggers short covering can lead to a rally, said Dr. VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Ltd.

"On the downside, immediate support for Nifty is placed at 24,500, followed by the 24,400–24,300 zone. As long as the index manages to hold above these support levels, extended selling pressure is unlikely. On the upside, 24,700 will act as the immediate resistance," added Hardik Matalia from Choice Broking.

India’s inflation rate based on CPI eased further to 1.55 per cent in July this year amid a decline in food prices. This is the lowest level of year-on-year retail inflation since June 2017.

Despite uncertainties around Trump's trade stance and global risks, India’s growth-inflation dynamics remain favourable for FY26, with a marginal downgrade based on tariff updates.

Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed as investors bet on a rate cut by the US Federal Reserve next month. US markets ended higher overnight, as the Dow Jones rose 1.04 per cent, the S&P 500 gained 0.32 per cent, and the Nasdaq Composite edged up 0.14 per cent.

Asian markets traded mixed. Japan’s Nikkei fell 1.36 per cent after hitting fresh highs yesterday. The Shanghai Composite added 0.2 per cent, while the Shenzhen Component eased 0.15 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dipped 0.09 per cent, and South Korea’s Kospi declined 0.28 per cent.

On Wednesday, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) extended their selling streak, offloading equities worth Rs 3,644 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers, purchasing equities worth Rs 5,623 crore.

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