Nifty gains for ninth straight session; ends above 25,000 level

Closing Bell: The domestic stock markets ended flat after erasing early gains on Tuesday with the National Stock Exchange’s broader Nifty 50 ending in green for the ninth straight session, according to exchange data.

NSE’s Nifty 50 ended 7.15 points or 0.03 per cent higher at 25,017.75 while Bombay Stock Exchange’s 30-share Sensitive Index (Sensex) also 13.65 points or 0.02 per cent higher at 81,711.76. 

Out of 30 stocks in BSE Sensex, 20 ended in red with JSW Steel taking the biggest hit, falling more than 2 per cent. Titan, Hindustan Unilever, NTPC, and Tata Motors were other laggards that pulled the market down as the trading session came to an end. 

Whereas, Bajaj Finance surged 2.37 per cent and became BSE’s top gainer followed by Maruti Suzuki, Larsen & Toubro, Bajaj Finance and Infosys, all of which gained over a per cent on Tuesday. 

The market movers from the last few sessions including FMCG, Metal, Auto, and Consumer Durable stocks could not perform well in the market today as each of these Nifty indices ended in the red. In terms of sectoral performance, Nifty FMCG ended as the biggest loser with a 1.06 per cent decline followed by Nifty Metal and Nifty Consumer Durables which slipped 0.61 per cent and 0.64 per cent respectively. 

Whereas, Nifty Media recorded a substantial 4 per cent move as Zee Entertainment gained over 11.6 per cent after the company announced a complete dispute settlement with Sony Entertainment. Financial Services, Healthcare, and Information & Technology were other key sectors which gained in the market on Tuesday. 

“Sectors such as IT, Media, Realty, Private Banks, and Energy Infrastructure are expected to remain in focus over the next couple of weeks as undervalued stocks compared to the index, and those offering strong results are being closely watched,” said VLA Ambala, Research Analyst, Stock Market Today, said.

The analyst also suggests that including tensions in the Middle East could disrupt supply chains and push commodity prices up again, with crude oil and edible commodities particularly affected. 

Despite mixed sentiment in the market, the volatility gauge (India VIX) eroded 1.17 per cent of Monday's gains. 

In terms of broader markets, all small-cap, mid-cap, large-cap, and micro-cap indices ended on a positive note.