Nifty Flat, Sensex Down ahead Union Budget

22 Jul 2024 , 01:59 PM

Benchmark indices Nifty and Sensex continued to trade in the red during mid-day, just a day before the Union Budget, as IT and realty stocks bogged down the sentiment.

At 1 PM, Indian benchmark indices were off the day’s high and trading lower. Sensex was down 121.82 points, or 0.15%, at 80,482.83, while Nifty was up 35.65 points, or 0.15%, at 24,495.25.

The midcap and smallcap indices, also known as the broader markets, edged higher, reversing the morning trends and outperforming the headline indices. Both indices traded 1.2% and 1% higher, respectively. Industry experts suggest that full-fledged profit booking took place in the broader market last week.

The VIX, also known as the fear gauge, rose further by 4.4% to around 16. The VIX has surged almost 17% in the last three months.

Of the 13 sectors, auto, pharma, and healthcare were the top gainers. In the auto index, M&M, Tata Motors, and Maruti Suzuki were the major contributors.

On the other hand, FMCG, IT, and realty stocks slipped ahead of the budget. The major laggard on the Nifty was Wipro from the IT index. This follows the company’s announcement of a decline in consolidated revenue for the first quarter. Wipro shares tanked as much as 9% in trade today.