There were ups and downs in the Indian stock market on Thursday. After a day of decline, the main indices closed marginally lower; However, midcap and smallcap stocks gave great returns to investors. Market breadth remained positive, indicating that buying sentiment will remain strong. At the end of the day, BSE Sensex closed at 75,183.36, down 135.03 points – or 0.18%. At the same time, NSE Nifty closed at 23,654.70 with a slight fall of 4.30 points. Although no major decline was observed, the market continued to fluctuate.
Mixed trend in regional performance
A mixed trend was also seen in regional indices. Realty sector emerged as the best performing sector, with the Nifty Realty index gaining 1.05%. The consumer durables sector gained 0.51%, while the energy index gained 0.31%. In contrast, the IT and FMCG sectors remained under pressure; The Nifty IT index fell by 0.56% and the FMCG index fell by 0.51%.
Strength in midcap and smallcap
The broader market outperformed the benchmark indices. The Nifty Smallcap 100 index closed 0.63% higher, while the Midcap 100 index remained almost flat. Overall, the market movement was positive, with 2,307 shares gaining and 1,688 shares declining.
best performing stocks
Many stocks from both largecap and midcap sectors performed strongly. Grasim Industries emerged as the top gainer, gaining 6.17%. Besides, Apollo Hospitals gained 2.85% and InterGlobe Aviation (Indigo) gained 3.25%. Bajaj Auto, Bharat Electronics and HDFC Life also showed strength. In the midcap sector, Honeywell Automation was the top gainer, rising 14.87%. Cans Technology gained 6.28% and Tata Communications gained 6.11%. Brainbees Solutions and Gland Pharma also gained 5-6%.
strong strengthening of rupee
Relief was also seen in the foreign exchange markets. The rupee strengthened at 96.20 against the US dollar, 62 paise higher than the previous session’s record low of 96.82. The rupee was supported by softening crude oil prices and improving global risk sentiment.
