Benchmark indices close on flat note; focus on US Fed meet outcome

Photo: ANI


Benchmark indices erased most gains and closed flat on Tuesday amid mixed global cues ahead of key rate decisions from the Bank of Japan and the United States Federal Reserve this week.

Nifty 50 opened at 24,839.40 against its previous close of 24,836.10 and closed 21 points, or 0.09%, up at 24,857.30.

The index touched its intraday high and low of 24,971.75 and 24,798.65, respectively.

Sensex opened at 81,349.28 against its previous close of 81,355.84 and settled 100 points, or 0.12%, higher at 81,455.40.

The index touched its intraday high and low of 81,815.27 and 81,230.44, respectively.

On the BSE, as many as 351 stocks, including NTPC, Power Grid, Tata Motors, BPCL, Colgate-Palmolive (India), Marico and Lupin, hit their fresh 52-week highs in intraday trade.

On Nifty50, the top gainers were Tata Motors (3.38%), NTPC (3.24%) and BPCL (3.08%).

On the losing side were the shares of LTIMindtree (2.07%), SBI Life (1.67%) and Cipla (1.61%).

The BSE Midcap index rose 0.27%, while the Smallcap index climbed 0.88%. The overall market capitalisation of the firms listed on the BSE rose to record nearly Rs 461 lakh crore.

Among sectors, the Nifty FMCG index, with 1.11% ended as the top loser followed by Nifty Healthcare down by 0.78% and Pharma down 0.62 per cent.

The top gainers was Nifty Consumer Durables that rose by 1.12 per cent. Nifty Bank settled with a mild gain of 0.18%, while Nifty Private Bank index rose 0.33%. The Nifty PSU Bank index slipped 0.08%.

Suzlon Energy rose by 5%, extending gains to the seventh session in a row. The stock has now surged over 23% since it released Q1FY25 earnings last week.

NTPC rallied over by 3 per cent to touch an all-time high of Rs 412.7 per share after it clocked a strong April-June quarter (Q1FY25) results.

Power Grid Corporation of India soared over two per cent after the company guided for an increased capital expenditure outlay for FY25.

Bank of Japan and the US Fed will hold two-day meetings starting Tuesday, with policy change announcements expected on Wednesday.

The Fed is expected to keep rates unchanged this time, but market participants will focus on hints that support the expectation that rate cuts may start in September.

Crude oil prices plunged to seven-week low levels due to a weak demand outlook. Benchmark Brent crude futures dropped to $79.70 amid growing concerns over softer demand from the world’s second-largest economy, China.