ET Market Watch: Sensex and Nifty remained flat and all attention was on inflation data.
At close, Nifty was up 3 points while Sensex was up 165 points.
winners and losers
Among blue chips, HDFC Bank, TCS, Maruti, Infosys and Reliance Industries were the biggest gainers, up 2.3 per cent. On the other hand, SBI, JSW Steel, ITC, NTPC, and Tata Motors ended in the red.
stocks in the news
Shares of Aditya Birla Capital closed 2.2 per cent higher after the company announced that it would merge with Aditya Birla Finance and convert from a holding company to an operating NBFC.
HIL surged 3% after the company acquired 100% stake in Crestia Polytech and four other companies for about Rs 265 crore, cash-free and debt-free.
Field
Nifty Realty fell 3.7% led by Swan Energy, Lodha and DLF. Nifty PSU Bank, Media, Metal, Pharma and Consumer Durables also ended lower by over 1% each. In the broader market, Nifty Midcap100 was down 1.4% and Nifty Smallcap100 was down 2%.
Asian stocks
Global stocks rose slightly ahead of US inflation data, which could confirm how quickly the federal government will cut interest rates. Data is due this evening. The MSCI World Index rose 0.1% overnight, led by gains on Wall Street and gains in Asian technology stocks.
Oil and Rupees
Oil prices rose on tensions in the Middle East, but gains were limited by weak demand sentiment ahead of the oil agency’s monthly report. Brent futures were trading at $82.69 per barrel and the U.S. crude oil contract was trading at $78.33. The Indian rupee closed little changed against the US dollar at 82.7675.
