Indices Remain Range-Bound, Close Lower

The Indian markets witnessed sideways movement after mid-session. At closing hour, selling pressure extended in the heavyweight counters. Nifty closed 16 points lower at 6201 and Sensex was down by 43 points at 20854. Both indices closed negative by more than 0.20%.

The advance-decline ratio on the NSE remained balanced, with a slight negative tilt. 1603 shares closed in the green and 1660 shares were in red.

Top 5 Nifty Gainers: GAIL closed higher by 2.7% in today’s trades, followed by BHEL, Jindal Steel, NMDC and DLF.

Top 5 Nifty Losers: IndusInd Bank ended the day lower by 1.8%. Kotak Mahindra Bank, L&T, Sesa Sterlite and Dr Reddy’s Labs were among the other stocks that closed in negatives.

The sectoral indices closed on a mixed note. Bankex was the top loser, down by 73 points, followed by Auto and FMCG, both lower by more than 50 points. Oil & Gas and Metals closed on a positive note, up by 43 points and 22 points respectively. Mid-Caps and Small-Caps also gained around 15 points each.

In the other Asian markets, Hang Seng was the top loser for the day, down by 128 points. Taiwan Weighted and KOSPI dipped by 20 points each. Nikkei closed on a positive note, up by 94 points.

Buzzer: Thermax rallied in today’s closing session. The stock has seen positive momentum over the past few sessions after it received an order valued at approximately Rs 269 crore from a leading petrochemical company. The stock made a bullish crossover at Rs 680. Above this level, it may break the technical level of Rs 700.

Nifty Futures moved in a small range today. The index is awaiting triggers to decide its further moves.