Mundane Monday: Sensex, Nifty settle on flat note in muted trade

The NSE dipped 3.30 points or 0.01 per cent to 24,320.55.

From the Sensex stocks, Titan, , , , , and M&M were the top losers, declining 1-3.5%. , UltraTech Cements, , and HDFC Bank also ended in the red, while ITC, , , and closed higher.

On the sectoral front, Nifty Bank, Auto, Media, Metal, Pharma, Realty, and Consumer Durables closed lower. While, Nifty FMCG, IT, and Oil & Gas closed higher.

Among individual stocks, closed in the 10% upper circuit after the company received approval from Punjab National Bank (PNB) for a one-time settlement of its outstanding dues.

shares also closed 2% higher after the company achieved a robust volume growth of 13% YoY in the quarter ended June 2024 along with a 36% increase in the volume of their branded exports.

The market breadth was skewed in favour of the bears. About 1,802 stocks gained, 2,257 declined, and 110 remained unchanged on the BSE.

Expert Views

"The market is turning to a consolidation phase due to the absence of major triggers to support the current premium valuation in the near term, prompting investors to book some profits," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.

"The earnings season is around the corner, and the initial expectation is subdued. With stable input prices and ongoing price cuts, the period of margin expansion appears to be concluding, which is likely to affect earnings and valuations," Nair said.

Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research at HDFC Securities, said, "Nifty formed a Doji type pattern with a long lower shadow. This has little predictive value. Nifty could stay in the 24164-24401 band for the near term."

Global Markets

World stocks held just below record highs on Monday, with sentiment slightly cautious as growth woes in China and the prospect of political deadlock in France took the shine off optimism about a US interest rate cut as early as September.

European shares reversed early falls, but US stock futures were broadly flat and Japan's Nikkei slipped 0.32% while the Chinese blue-chip index was off 0.9%.

Europe's region-wide STOXX 600 and the CAC 40 in Paris were both up over 0.4% after early falls.

Crude Oil

Oil prices slid on Monday after rising for four weeks, as the prospect of a ceasefire deal in Gaza eased tensions in the Middle East, while investors assessed potential disruption to US energy supplies from Hurricane Beryl.

Brent crude futures were down 49 cents, or 0.57%, at $86.05 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was at $82.53 a barrel, down 63 cents, or 0.76%.

Currency Watch

The Indian rupee closed little changed on Monday after lingering in a tight band, unable to capitalise on a broadly weaker dollar in the midst of heightened odds of a September rate cut by the Federal Reserve.

The rupee closed at 83.4925 against the US dollar, barely changed from its close of 83.4850 in the previous session. The currency hovered between 83.44 and 83.50 throughout the session.

(With inputs from agencies)