Sensex, Nifty Trade Lower; Pharma and IT Drag While Small-caps Outperform

Indian equity benchmarks traded with a bearish bias on Thursday morning, with selling pressure in heavyweight stocks keeping the frontline indices in the red. Around 10:15 AM, the Sensex was near 77,813, down about 154 points or 0.20 per cent, while the Nifty 50 slipped 102 points or 0.42 per cent to around 24,334. The market remained cautious as elevated crude oil prices and continued uncertainty in the Middle East offset supportive global equity cues.

Broader markets put up a relatively better show. The Nifty Bank fell 0.52 per cent to 57,585.55, while the Nifty Midcap 100 declined 0.25 per cent to 63,863.50. Smallcaps managed to buck the trend, with the Nifty Smallcap 100 gaining around 0.25 per cent to 19,871, indicating that stock-specific buying remained active despite weakness in the benchmarks.

Sectorally, the picture remained mixed. Nifty Media gained 0.58 per cent, supported by strength in Sun TV Network, while Nifty Capital Market rose 0.37 per cent and Nifty Auto added 0.18 per cent. On the losing side, Nifty Pharma dropped 0.78 per cent, Nifty Healthcare declined 0.56 per cent and Nifty IT slipped 0.55 per cent. Pharma-related weakness was visible in stocks such as Zydus Lifesciences, Biocon and Divi's Laboratories.

Earnings and block deals created sharp stock-specific moves. Astral jumped around 6 per cent after Q1 profit increased 51.8 per cent year-on-year to Rs 120.2 crore and revenue rose 15.9 per cent. Lenskart Solutions gained about 5 per cent after quarterly profit surged 269.2 per cent to Rs 221.8 crore, while revenue grew 43.3 per cent. The stock also received a boost from its inclusion in the MSCI India Index. Sun TV Network climbed 4.3 per cent after profit rose nearly 17 per cent and revenue increased 13 per cent. In contrast, Thyrocare Technologies fell around 5 per cent after 1.32 crore shares, representing 8.27 per cent equity, changed hands in a block deal worth around Rs 822 crore.

Institutional flows offered some support to the market. In the latest available cash-market data for August 12, FIIs were net sellers worth Rs 1,002.50 crore, while DIIs bought equities worth Rs 5,841.66 crore, more than offsetting foreign selling.

Global cues were broadly supportive. Overnight, the S&P 500 gained 0.26 per cent and Nasdaq rose 0.54 per cent, while the Dow slipped 0.04 per cent after softer US inflation reduced expectations of a September Fed rate hike. Asian markets were largely positive, with Japan's Nikkei gaining around 1.9 per cent. However, Brent crude remained elevated near USD 88 per barrel, keeping Indian investors cautious, while the Dollar Index hovered near 100.

For the rest of the session, 24,300-24,312 remains the immediate support zone for Nifty, followed by 24,264. On the upside, 24,471-24,520 could act as the first resistance band. Traders will also track crude oil, Middle East developments and Q1 results from companies including Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, Max Healthcare and Page Industries.

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