New Delhi, 06 August (H.S.): After witnessing volatility throughout the day, the domestic stock market managed to close on a positive note on Thursday. The market had started the session with gains, but continuous tussle between buyers and sellers led to fluctuations in both the Sensex and Nifty indices. At the end of the day’s trading, the Sensex closed with a gain of 0.48 per cent, while the Nifty ended 0.05 per cent higher.

Despite the market’s strength, investors suffered a loss of around Rs 58,000 crore due to a decline in the market capitalisation of listed companies.

The BSE Sensex opened at 78,782.43 points, gaining 201.43 points or 0.26 per cent. Soon after trading began, a tug-of-war started between bulls and bears, causing fluctuations in the index movement. Under selling pressure, the Sensex slipped to 78,633.73 points. However, it continued to trade in positive territory despite the pressure. Strong buying in the final hours helped the index close 373.76 points higher at 78,954.76 points.

Similarly, the NSE Nifty opened at 24,641 points, rising 16.35 points or 0.07 per cent. After the market opened, continuous buying and selling activity caused volatility in the index. Supported by buying interest, the Nifty climbed 52.40 points or 0.21 per cent to touch 24,677.05 points. However, selling pressure pushed it down by 20.50 points or 0.08 per cent to 24,604.15 points. After the full-day trading session, the Nifty closed with a marginal gain of 11.35 points at 24,636 points.

During Thursday’s trading session, PSU bank stocks witnessed strong buying interest. The Nifty PSU Bank index ended 2.20 per cent higher. The Capital Goods, Consumer Durables, Healthcare and Oil & Gas indices also closed with gains.

On the other hand, Automobile, IT and Metal sector stocks witnessed heavy selling pressure. The Nifty Auto index declined 1.01 per cent, while the IT index fell 0.95 per cent and the Metal index dropped 0.79 per cent. The FMCG and Public Sector Enterprise indices also ended in the red.

The broader market witnessed mixed trends. The Nifty Midcap index declined 0.44 per cent, while the Smallcap index ended 0.48 per cent higher.

Despite the overall gains in the stock market, selling pressure in midcap stocks reduced investors’ wealth by more than Rs 50,000 crore. The market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies declined to Rs 493.45 lakh crore (provisional) after Thursday’s trading, compared to Rs 494.03 lakh crore on the previous trading day, Wednesday. This resulted in a loss of nearly Rs 58,000 crore for investors.

During the day, 4,493 shares were actively traded on the BSE. Of these, 2,114 shares closed higher, 2,160 shares declined, and 219 shares remained unchanged. On the NSE, 3,015 shares witnessed active trading, with 1,504 shares ending in gains and 1,511 shares closing lower.

Among the 30 Sensex constituents, 11 shares closed higher, 16 declined, and three remained unchanged. In the Nifty 50 pack, 15 shares ended in the green, 34 in the red, and one remained unchanged.

Among the major stocks, Reliance Industries gained 3.52 per cent, State Bank of India rose 2.84 per cent, Bharat Electronics advanced 2.36 per cent, Eternal gained 1.90 per cent, and Titan Company climbed 1.74 per cent, emerging as the top five gainers of the day.

On the losing side, Power Grid Corporation declined 3.90 per cent, Tata Steel fell 1.91 per cent, JSW Steel dropped 1.66 per cent, TCS slipped 1.66 per cent, and Bajaj Auto declined 1.53 per cent, making them the top five losers in Thursday’s session.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar