Benchmark Indian stock indices concluded Wednesday’s trade on a flat note, with healthcare and auto sectors stealing the show amid patchy performances elsewhere. The Sensex slipped 40.28 points (0.05%) to 84,233.64, as Nifty edged higher by 18.70 points (0.07%) to 25,953.85.
Sectoral heavyweights in healthcare and autos fueled the limited upside. Nifty Healthcare jumped 1.62%, Nifty Auto 1.30%, alongside gains in PSU Banks (1.03%), Pharma (1.01%), India Manufacturing (0.76%), and Realty (0.63%).
IT bore the brunt of selling pressure, dropping 1.76%, while PSE and private banks fell 0.16%.
Gainers in Sensex were led by SBI, Maruti Suzuki, IndiGo, Trent, NTPC, Bajaj Finance, ICICI Bank, Sun Pharma, BEL, Bharti Airtel, and L&T. The laggards list featured TCS, Infosys, HCL Tech, Eternal, ITC, Tech Mahindra, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, UltraTech Cement, Titan, Tata Steel, Bajaj Finserv, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Asian Paints, and Power Grid.
Midcap 100 index closed up 0.03% at 60,754.55, and Smallcap 100 at 17,455 with a tiny gain.
‘Session saw Nifty hit resistance at 26,000 before easing back. Short-term trend positive; support at 25,800,’ commented Rupak De of LKP Securities. ‘Breakout beyond 26,000 likely to attract more buyers.’
An upbeat open saw Sensex at 84,339.15 (+65.23 pts) and Nifty at 25,997.45 (+62.3 pts). As the market digests recent gains, eyes are on inflation data and FII flows for sustained direction.