The Sensex and Nifty flattened out after a positive open on October 15, buoyed by positive global market sentiment. While IT and banking stocks witnessed buying, oil and gas, along with auto stocks, were under selling pressure.
At 9:56 AM, the Sensex was down 63 points at 81,909, while the Nifty fell 30 points or 0.1 percent to hit 25,097.
As the Q2 earnings season heats up, investor expectations are running high, particularly for IT and banking stocks. V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services said, "HCL Tech's good results confirm the optimistic expectations and the banking results, particularly from the leading private banks, also are likely to be good." He said that while IT stocks offer limited valuation comfort, banking stocks present a more compelling opportunity, with room to rally from current levels.
Nifty IT advanced 0.7 percent, buoyed by gains in Infosys, TCS, and HCLTech, following HCLTech's stronger-than-expected Q2 earnings and an overnight tech rally in the US market. Infosys surged over 1 percent, hitting an all-time high of Rs 1,991.45.
Nifty Bank climbed 0.3 percent, led by ICICI Bank, Bank of Baroda, and HDFC Bank.
Meanwhile, the Nifty Metal index declined by almost a percent, extending its losses from the previous session. The index was weighed down by shares of Tata Steel, Hindalco, and Vedanta.
On the Nifty 50, Infosys, Bajaj Finserv, and BPCL were the top gainers, rising between 1-3 percent, while Tata Steel, M&M, and Bajaj Auto declined over 1 percent each.
In the broader market, the BSE Midcap was flat while the BSE Smallcap climbed 0.5 percent.
On the technical side, Aditya Gaggar, Director at Progressive Shares, highlighted 25,000 as a crucial support level for the Nifty, with resistance likely between 25,160 and 25,200.
Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities said that all eyes will be on Hyundai Motor's IPO valued at Rs 28,780 crore. "This marks the first automaker IPO in two decades since Maruti Suzuki's 2003 listing."
Most Asia-Pacific markets gained today with Japan's Nikkei share average climbing to a three-month high. Overnight, Wall Street saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 reach new record highs, driven by a tech stock rally ahead of a busy week for corporate earnings and key economic data.
On October 14, two Federal Reserve officials expressed caution about future rate policy. Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari hinted at modest rate cuts as inflation nears the Fed's 2 percent target, while Fed Governor Christopher Waller urged "more caution" regarding further rate reductions.
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