Sensex, Nifty end flat amid volatility

Benchmark indices closed flat amid volatility on Thursday. 

Market edged higher during the early session and remained volatile through the day ahead of the June F&O settlement. Indices closed lower dragged by metals, auto, IT and PSU Bank stocks. 

The BSE Sensex closed at 53,018.94, down 8.03 points or 0.02 per cent. It recorded an intraday high of  53,377.54 and a low of 52,883.25. The Nifty 50 closed at 15,780.25, down 18.85 points or 0.12 per cent. It recorded an intraday high of 15,890.00 and a low of 15,728.85.

Breadth favours decliners

The market breadth remained in favour of the decliners with 1,907 stocks declining on the BSE as against 1,369 that advanced while 144 remained unchanged. Furthermore, 15 stocks hit the upper circuit as compared to the two stocks that were locked in the lower circuit. Besides, 65 stocks touched a 52-week high level and 42 touched a 52-week low.

Prashanth Tapse, Vice President (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd said, “Amidst volatility, the markets ended June expiry on a negative note. Although bulls did spring to life in the morning session, but on the backdrop of negative global cues, the benchmarks slipped hard and, most importantly, ended on a negative note. The familiar fears of more interest rate increases and the risk of recession continued to haunt investors.”

Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities said, “Nifty ended marginally in the negative on F&O expiry day, month end and quarter end day on June 30. Broader markets continued to be under pressure as advance decline ratio was in the negative.  Among sectors, Power and Bank indices rose the most, while Realty, Metals and Auto indices fell the most.”

“Most global markets fell again on Thursday as traders fear that hefty rate hikes to rein in soaring inflation will spark a recession. Nifty ended ~5% lower for the month and 9.4% lower for the quarter even as FPIs continue to be sellers on almost all days,” added Jasani.

Axis Bank, State Bank of India, Divi’s Lab, Britannia and HDFC Life were the top gainers on the Nifty 50 while Eicher Motor, Cipla, BPCL, JSW Steel and Shree Cement were the top losers. 

Sectoral indices

On the sectoral front, all indices except Nifty Bank, Nifty Financial Services and Nifty Private Bank closed in the red.

Nifty Metal closed nearly 2 per cent lower. Nifty Auto, Nifty IT, Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty Realty each closed over 1 per cent lower.

Meanwhile, Nifty Bank and Nifty Financial Services were each up nearly 0.5 per cent.

Broader indices

Broader market also faced pressure with broader indices closing in the red.

Nifty Midcap 50 was down 0.85 per cent while Nifty Smallcap 50 was down 0.25 per cent. The S&P BSE Midcap was down 0.74 per cent while the S&P BSE Smallcap was down 0.54 per cent. 

The volatility index softened 0.27 per cent to 21.84.

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