Closing Bell: Sensex ends flat at 78,520, Nifty holds 24,364 - IT, realty stocks weigh

Benchmark indices ended marginally higher on Monday after a volatile session, with gains in banking stocks offset by weakness in IT and realty shares.

The BSE Sensex rose 26.76 points to close at 78,520.30, while the Nifty 50 gained 11.30 points to settle at 24,364.85.

Top Gainers and Losers

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Among Sensex constituents, Trent emerged as the top gainer, rising 3.33 per cent, followed by SBI, which advanced 2.52 per cent and Asian Paints, which gained 2.15 per cent. NTPC and Bajaj Finance added over 1 per cent each, while IndiGo, Eternal, M&M, ICICI Bank and Power Grid also ended with gains. Adani Ports and UltraTech Cement saw marginal upticks.

On the other hand, L&T was the top loser, declining 1.10 per cent, followed by BEL, HCL Tech, Kotak Bank and Bajaj Finserv. IT stocks remained under pressure, with Infosys, Tech Mahindra and TCS ending lower. HDFC Bank, ITC, Sun Pharma, Axis Bank and Hindustan Unilever also closed in the red. Reliance Industries, Tata Steel, Bharti Airtel, Titan and Maruti Suzuki saw mild declines.

Nifty Broader Indices

Broader markets ended on a mixed note on Monday, with large-cap indices showing marginal gains while midcap and smallcap segments remained under pressure.

The Nifty Next 50 gained 0.10 per cent. The Nifty 100 and Nifty 200 also ended slightly higher, indicating mild strength in large-cap stocks.

However, midcap indices declined, with Nifty Midcap indices falling up to 0.19 per cent, reflecting some profit booking. Small-cap stocks saw sharper cuts, with the Nifty Smallcap indices dropping up to 0.52 per cent. The Nifty Microcap 250 index also fell 0.56 per cent, indicating broader weakness in the wider market.

Other broader indices, including Nifty 500, Nifty Total Market and Nifty Large Midcap, ended largely flat with a negative bias.

Nifty Sectoral Indices

Sectoral indices ended on a mixed note on Monday, with buying seen in select pockets while weakness persisted in IT and realty stocks.

The Nifty PSU Bank index rose 0.87 per cent, while the Nifty Media gained 0.90 per cent. Nifty Auto, Nifty Bank and financial services indices ended with marginal gains, indicating some support from financial and auto stocks. The Nifty Oil and Gas index also closed higher.

On the other hand, Nifty IT declined 0.70 per cent, emerging as one of the top losers, while Nifty Realty fell 0.62 per cent. Metal and pharma indices also ended in the red, along with FMCG and consumer durables, which saw mild selling pressure.

Private banks and healthcare indices slipped marginally, while broader segments such as mid-small healthcare and chemical indices also ended lower.

Stock Market Update

Market breadth remained weak on Monday, with declines outpacing advances on the NSE. A total of 3,427 stocks were traded, of which 1,262 advanced, 2,045 declined, and 120 remained unchanged. As many as 132 stocks touched their 52-week highs, while 8 hit their 52-week lows.

In terms of broader activity, 116 stocks were locked in the upper circuit limit, whereas 66 stocks hit the lower circuit. The total market capitalisation of listed companies on the NSE stood at Rs 464.74 lakh crore.

Markets had turned negative in late trade after erasing early gains, but recovered towards the close amid support from financial stocks and continued foreign institutional investor (FII) buying.

Sectorally, banking and PSU bank stocks led the gains, signalling strength in the financial space. Auto and FMCG shares also saw mild buying interest, while midcaps supported overall market breadth.

However, IT, realty and metal stocks remained under pressure, capping the upside in the broader market.