Nifty, Sensex Near Day's Lows As RIL, Airtel Weigh: Midday Market Update

Indian equity benchmarks were trading near day's low tracking loss in heavyweights Reliance Industries Ltd. and Bharti Airtel Ltd.

As of 12:04 p.m., the NSE Nifty 50 was trading 150.30 points, or 0.61% lower at 24,650.55, and the S&P BSE Sensex was 343.12 points, or 0.42% down at 81,000.34.

Intraday, Nifty fell 0.72% to 24,621.85, and Sensex declined 0.51% to 80,926.50.

However, shortly after open, the NSE Nifty 50 had risen 0.22% to a fresh high of 24,854.80.

Traders are focusing on budget-related stocks, which will be announced on July 23. There are positive expectations for PSU housing finance, PSU banks, fertilizers, and the infrastructure sectors. The rally in information technology stocks is expected to continue after Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. and Infosys Ltd. reported better-than-expected Q1 results, along with a strong growth forecast, said Vikas Jain, head of research, Reliance Securities Ltd.

Shares of Infosys Ltd., ITC Ltd., HCL Technologies Ltd., Asian Paints Ltd., and Britannia Industries Ltd. cushioned the fall in Nifty.

While those of Reliance Industries Ltd., Bharti Airtel Ltd., Tata Steel Ltd., Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., and Tata Motors Ltd. weighed the index.

On NSE, 10 sectors out of 12 declined, one advanced, and one remained flat. The NSE Nifty Metal declined the most, while the NSE Nifty IT rose the most.

Broader markets underperformed benchmark indices. The S&P BSE Midcap and Smallcap were trading 2.36% and 2.17% lower, respectively.

On BSE, 18 sectors out of 20 advanced, and two declined. The S&P BSE Metal was the worst performing sector. The S&P BSE IT and TECK were the best performing sectors.

Market breadth was skewed in the favour of sellers. Around 2,901 stocks declined, 834 stocks rose, and 113 stocks remained unchanged on BSE.

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