Benchmark indices Nifty and Sensex pared all gains to slip into the red as investors opted to book profit, with the market consolidating ahead of the Q1FY25 results of Tata Consultancy Services and the eagerly anticipated 2024 Union Budget on July 23.

At noon,  the Sensex was down 0.30 percent at 79,687 and the Nifty fell 0.24 percent at 24,265. About 1,957 shares advanced, 1,342 shares declined, and 92 shares were unchanged.

The midcap and smallcap indices continued to outpace headline indices after gaining 0.2 and 0.4 percent, respectively. The midcap index has rallied over 10 percent since the start of June while the smallcap index has surged nearly 13 percent during the same period.

The VIX, also known as the fear gauge, eased by 2 percent to be at around 14.2.

Sectoral Trend

Realty, Pharma, Healthcare, and Bank indexes were the major losers, dragging the market lower. Realty stocks were the worst hit with Macrotech Developers and Brigade Enterprises falling the most. Energy and Auto stocks edged higher with Coal India, ONGC, and Tata Power being the top gainers on the index.

Fundamental View

The market has rallied strongly in the past 20-25 sessions and we can expect a breather and that's healthy for the market from a medium to short term," Kranthi Bathini, Director of Equity Strategy at WealthMills Securities, told a Source. He also added that markets are likely to trade with a positive bias if it remains above 24,000. However, given the kind of liquidity in the market and also strong retail participation, markets can see sharp correction and recovery, he added.

Technical View

"The index would have the psychological and important support zone of 24,000 levels which needs to be sustained to maintain the overall bias positive," said Vaishali Parekh, vice president of technical research at Prabhudas Lilladher. Sensex opened with a gap up but could not sustain above the 80,500 zone for long and fizzled out with profit booking witnessed for the session. "The support for the day is seen at 79,500 and 24,200 (Sensex and Nifty) levels while the resistance would be at 80,500 and 24,500 levels," she added.

On Bank Nifty, she said it has been resisting near the 52,600 zones since the last 2-3 sessions and has the crucial near-term support zone near the 52,000 zones below which the bias would turn a bit weak and a further slide could be on the cards.

Top Nifty gainers

Coal India, ONGC, Tata Motors, BPCL, and Tata Steel.

Top Nifty losers

Nestle India, Bajaj Finance, Shriram Finance, Sun Pharma, and Tech Mahindra.

Key Sensex gainers

Tata Motors, Tata Steel, ITC, Titan Company, and SBI.

Key Sensex losers

Nestle India, Bajaj Finance, HDFC Bank, Tech Mahindra and ICICI Bank.

Stock Moves

HPL Electric: Shares skyrocketed 15 percent after the company announced it won a Letter of Award for smart meters worth Rs 2,000.71 crore. It has been received from HPL Electric's regular leading customers. The company has not shared further details about the order.

Yes Bank: Shares of the lender rallied 7 percent after global rating agency Moody's revised its outlook to 'positive' from 'stable' in hopes of improvement in the lender's depositor base and lending franchise. The positive outlook considers the improvement in the bank's asset quality and capitalisation over the past 2-3 years.