Sensex, Nifty trade remain flat ahead of Fed chief's policy speech on interest rates

Indian equity indices opened flat on Friday following mixed cues from global markets.

At 9.43 a.m., Sensex was down 129 points or 0.16 per cent at 80,923 and Nifty was down 21 points or 0.09 per cent at 24,789.

Broader market trends remained positive. In the National Stock Exchange (NSE), 1,122 shares were in the green and 1,083 shares in the red.

In the Sensex pack, Tata Motors, Reliance, Sun Pharma, M&M, Bajaj Finserv, ICICI Bank, ICICI Bank, and HUL were top gainers. Titan, Infosys, Wipro, Tata Steel, Ultratech Cement, ITC, Asian paints, NTPC, Bajaj Finance and SBI were top losers.

Choice Broking analyst said, "After a flat opening, Nifty can find support at 24,700 followed by 24,650 and 24,550. On the higher side, 24,900 can be an immediate resistance, followed by 24,950 and 25,000."

Selling was seen in the midcap and smallcap stocks. Nifty midcap 100 index was down 149 points or 0.25 per cent at 58,700 and Nifty smallcap 100 index was down 38 points or 0.20 per cent at 19,062.

Among the sectoral indices, Auto, PSU Bank, pharma, realty and energy were major gainers while Media and IT major laggards.

Most of the major markets in Asia were trading at a brisk pace. Markets in Tokyo, Shanghai, Bangkok and Jakarta were in the green. There is a decline in Seoul and Hong Kong. US markets closed with a decline on Thursday.

According to market experts, "Market is witnessing significant sectoral churning. The PSU stocks rally which gave excellent returns in recent months is losing steam. For PSU banking stocks, the turnaround story which took the PSU banks from losses of Rs 87000 crores in FY 2018 to profits of Rs 1.41 lakh crore in FY 2024 is over. But the valuation of this segment is still attractive."

"Globally the market's focus today will be on Jerome Powell's comments at Jackson Hole on the economy and the possible rate cut trend. Powell is likely to sound dovish indicating a rate cut in September," they added.

The foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 1,371 crore on August 22, while domestic institutional investors also bought equities worth Rs 2,971 crore on the same day.

(With inputs from IANS)