New Delhi, 30 July (H.S.):
The domestic equity market traded largely flat with a negative bias during early trading on Thursday, as investors remained cautious amid volatile market movements. The benchmark indices opened on a muted note and fluctuated between gains and losses as buying and selling pressure kept sentiment evenly balanced. After the first hour of trading, the Sensex was down 0.05 per cent, while the Nifty slipped 0.04 per cent.
Among the blue-chip stocks, Wipro, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, ONGC and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) emerged as the top gainers during the first hour of trade, advancing between 1.53 per cent and 3.09 per cent. On the other hand, Adani Ports, Shriram Finance, UltraTech Cement, Jio Financial Services and Asian Paints were among the major losers, declining between 1.46 per cent and 2.70 per cent.
A total of 2,754 stocks were actively traded during the early session. Of these, 1,103 advanced while 1,651 declined. On the BSE, 11 of the 30 Sensex constituents traded in positive territory, whereas 19 were in the red. Similarly, on the NSE, 24 of the 50 Nifty stocks posted gains while 26 traded lower.
The BSE Sensex opened 15.74 points lower at 77,638.86. Soon after the opening bell, the index witnessed sharp fluctuations amid sustained buying and selling activity. It climbed to an intraday high of 77,737.22 on buying support before slipping to a low of 77,440.91 due to selling pressure. At 10:15 a.m., after the first hour of trading, the Sensex was down 39.94 points at 77,614.66.
The NSE Nifty opened marginally lower by 0.65 points at 24,249.55 and also experienced volatile movement in early trade. The index touched an intraday high of 24,287.25 on buying interest before falling to a low of 24,187.10 amid selling pressure. At 10:15 a.m., the Nifty was trading 8.60 points lower at 24,241.60.
In the previous trading session on Wednesday, the Sensex had rallied 888.68 points, or 1.16 per cent, to close at 77,654.60, while the Nifty gained 264.85 points, or 1.10 per cent, to settle at 24,250.20.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
