Sensex, Nifty Hold Mild Gains as IT Rally Offsets FMCG and Banking Weakness

Indian equity markets remained rangebound with a mild positive bias on Tuesday. At 11:50 am IST, the Sensex was trading 93.49 points, or 0.12 per cent, higher at 76,929.27. The Nifty 50 gained 27.40 points, or 0.11 per cent, to trade at 24,023.35. However, the broader market mood remained cautious, with 1,426 shares advancing against 2,185 declining.

The broader indices delivered a mixed performance. The Nifty Bank slipped around 0.22 per cent to 56,961.75 as weakness in ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, SBI and public sector lenders limited the upside. The Nifty Midcap 100 remained nearly flat at 62,340.65, up 0.06 per cent. The Nifty Smallcap 100 stayed under pressure after Monday’s sharp recovery and had declined around 0.5 per cent during early trade.

Sectorally, information technology stocks were the clear winners. The Nifty IT index surged 3.86 per cent, supported by strong gains in Coforge, TCS, Infosys, HCL Technologies and Tech Mahindra. Sentiment improved after Jefferies upgraded the Indian IT sector to neutral from underweight, highlighting its relatively lower exposure to capital-intensive artificial intelligence investments.

The Nifty Realty index advanced 1.62 per cent, led by Lodha Developers, DLF and Godrej Properties. Nifty Auto also gained 0.40 per cent. On the losing side, Nifty FMCG declined 1.09 per cent, Nifty PSU Bank fell 0.55 per cent and Nifty Pharma slipped 0.18 per cent. Weakness in HUL and public sector banking shares weighed on these pockets.

Among individual stocks, Coforge jumped around 9.4 per cent to Rs 1,672.50 as buying intensified across the IT pack. Lodha Developers gained as much as 6.9 per cent after Jefferies maintained its buy view, citing high-margin land monetisation and management’s confidence in achieving 17 per cent pre-sales growth in FY27.

Hindustan Unilever declined nearly 3.7 per cent after its quarterly profit missed market expectations. Bharat Electronics fell around 3.3 per cent despite reporting 25 per cent revenue growth, as investors remained concerned about margins. Coal India slipped nearly 2.8 per cent after quarterly profit growth remained muted at 0.6 per cent.

The latest available institutional data showed FIIs net selling shares worth Rs 1,688.23 crore on July 27, while DIIs provided support through net purchases of Rs 2,329.14 crore. July 28 provisional figures will be released after the market closes.

Global cues remained mixed. The Dow Jones gained 0.51 per cent overnight, while the Nasdaq declined 0.18 per cent. Asian technology stocks faced heavy selling, with Japan’s Nikkei falling more than 4 per cent. Brent crude eased to around USD 87.3 per barrel, providing some relief to domestic sentiment, while the US dollar remained near a one-month high ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy decision.

For the remainder of the session, the Nifty’s ability to hold above 24,000 amid monthly derivatives expiry will remain important. The 24,100 to 24,150 zone is the immediate hurdle, while 23,800 remains a key support area. Investors will also track the Federal Reserve’s policy commentary and quarterly earnings from L&T, Ambuja Cements, Tata Capital and other companies.

The market remains stock-specific, with headline indices masking weakness in the broader market.

Disclaimer: The article is for informational purposes only and not investment advice.