Sensex, Nifty rangebound; Nifty Bank subdued ahead of monthly F&O expiry

The Indian equity benchmarks were trading in a narrow range defying a rally in global markets spurred by stimulus measures by China to revive its slowing economy. The Sensex was stuck in a range of 253 points and Nifty 50 index touched an intraday high of 25,954 and low of 25,891.

China, the world's second largest economy, unveiled a slew of stimulus measures to boost its slowing economy thereby boosting stock markets across the world. China's central bank of Tuesday announced its biggest stimulus package since COVID-19 pandemic to pull the economy out of deflation towards the government's growth target.

Reacting to the stimulus measures announced by Chinese government, stock markets across the world surged with many hitting record highs. In the United States, both Dow Jones and S&P 500 hit new all-time highs boosted by mining shares as China is one of the world's biggest markets for iron ore and other mining products which are used as raw materials. Dow Jones surged 0.2 per cent to close at record high of 42,208.22 and S&P 500 index climbed 0.25 per cent to an all-time high of 5,732.93.

Back home, the gauge of banking shares on the National Stock Exchange Nifty Bank index was trading on a flat note ahead of monthly expiry of September futures and option contracts due later in the day.

Selling pressure was broad-based as ten of 13 sector gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange were trading lower led by the Nifty FMCG index's 1 per cent fall. IT, PSU Bank, Realty, Consumer Durables, Healthcare and Oil & Gas indices also fell around 0.5 per cent.

On the other hand, metal, financial services and media stocks were witnessing buying interest.

Mid- and small-cap shares were also facing selling pressure as Nifty Midcap 100 index declined 0.7 per cent and Nifty Smallcap 100 index fell 0.2 per cent.

Tata Consumer Products was top Nifty loser, the stock fell 2.12 per cent to Rs 1,186. LTI Mindtree, Britannia Industries, Tech Mahindra , Tata Motors, Grasim Industries, Nestle India, Shriram Finance and Hindustan Unilever were also among the losers.

On the flipside, Power Grid, Divi's Labs, HDFC Bank , Hindalco, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Steel and Axis Bank were among the gainers.

The overall market breadth was negative as 1,986 shares were declining while 1,649 were advancing on the BSE.