Stock market today: Sensex, Nifty 50 eke out gains ahead of US Fed meet outcome

The US Federal Reserve is expected to maintain the rates steady. Investors and analysts are placing greater emphasis on Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s press conference following the policy decision announcement. They seek signals regarding the US central bank’s perspective on persistent inflation and the future trajectory of interest rates.

Also Read: There may be no US Fed rate cut in 2024 as inflation remains sticky, says Madhavi Arora of Emkay

“While the US Fed is likely to maintain its stance and keep the rate unchanged, its commentary will hold importance as it would provide insights into the Central bank’s future rate action,” said Siddhartha Khemka, Head – Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services.

Also Read: US Federal Reserve meeting day 2: What does a rate decision mean for Indian stock market?

Sensex and Nifty 50 opened with mild gains but traded volatile during the session. Eventually, Sensex closed at 72,101.69, up 90 points, or 0.12 per cent while the Nifty 50 settled with a gain of 22 points, or 0.10 per cent, at 21,839.10.

Midcap and smallcap indices underperformed the largecap indices. The BSE Midcap index closed with a nominal gain of 0.05 per cent while the Smallcap index settled with a loss of 0.14 per cent.

Shares of Reliance Industries, ITC and SBI contributed the most to the gains in the Sensex index. On the flip side, shares of HDFC Bank, Axis Bank and Tata Motors were the top drags on the index.

Some 86 stocks, including Maruti Suzuki, CG Power and Industrial Solutions and Sapphire Foods India, hit their fresh 52-week highs while 79 stocks, including Hindustan Unilever, Bata India, Page Industries, Zee Entertainment and Vedant Fashions, hit their fresh 52-week lows in intraday trade on the BSE.

Top gainers in the Nifty 50 index today

Shares of Eicher Motors (up 4.25 per cent), Maruti Suzuki India (up 2.83 per cent) and Nestle India (up 2.18 per cent) ended as the top gainers in the Nifty 50 index. Overall, 27 stocks ended higher in the Nifty 50 pack.

Top losers in the Nifty 50 index today

Shares of Tata Steel (down 2.25 per cent), Tata Consumer (down 2.08 per cent) and Tata Motors (down 1.40 per cent) closed as the top losers in the Nifty 50 index.

Sectoral indices today

Most sectoral indices ended with losses today, with Nifty Metal (down 0.79 per cent) as the top loser.

Nifty Bank slipped 0.16 per cent while the Private Bank index fell 0.29 per cent. Nifty PSU Bank ended with a mild gain of 0.05 per cent.

Among the gainers, Nifty Oil & Gas (up 1.29 per cent) stood at the top, followed by Nifty Realty (up 0.62 per cent).

(More to come)

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Published: 20 Mar 2024, 03:29 PM IST