Indian Benchmark Indices Trade Flat as Investors Monitor Global Cues

16 Oct 2023 , 01:17 PM

Around noon on October 16, the benchmark BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty 50 were trading with limited movement, primarily due to concerns stemming from the Middle East conflict, which dampened investor enthusiasm for riskier assets. Market participants are closely monitoring several factors, including surging oil prices, second-quarter corporate results, macroeconomic data, gold prices, and other global cues, as they seek guidance for future market direction.

At this point in the trading session, the Sensex had gained 33.12 points, equivalent to a modest increase of 0.05%, reaching 66,315.86. Simultaneously, the Nifty showed a gain of 21.50 points, representing a slight uptick of 0.11%, with the index at 19,772.50. The market breadth revealed that 1,910 stocks advanced, 1,340 stocks declined, and 133 stocks remained unchanged.

Within the Nifty’s sectoral indexes, the financial services and banking sectors were notable underperformers, each registering a decline of over 0.5%. Of the 13 sectoral indexes, ten were in the red.

Interestingly, in the early trading hours, smaller and mid-cap stocks, which tend to be more domestically focused, outperformed their large-cap counterparts. Small-cap stocks showed a gain of 0.3%, while mid-cap stocks recorded a more modest increase of 0.1%, with retail investor inflows playing a supportive role.

Among specific stocks, Avenue Supermarts, the operator of D-mart, experienced a decline of up to 4.14% following its report of reduced profits for the September quarter. Additionally, Delta Corp faced a significant setback, with a loss of more than 9%, as one of its units received a goods and services tax (GST) notice for a shortfall of 63.84 billion rupees. Meanwhile, India’s leading private lender, HDFC Bank, saw a 1% decrease in its share price as investors awaited its second-quarter results scheduled for later in the day.