Indices trade flat; NIFTY50 opens below 25,500 mark, SENSEX rises marginally; Tata Steel top gainer

The Indian stock market opened with gains on Thursday, July 3, following global cues but lost momentum after a few minutes. The main equity indices were trading flat as foreign fund outflow continues.

Investors wait for more triggers from March-June quarter earnings and the outcome of the trade deal between India and the US.

The broader market, however, was seen trading with gains, with the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 indices rising 0.17% and 0.16%, respectively.

According to exchange data, on Wednesday, the foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth ₹1,561.62 crore on a net basis, while the domestic institutional investors (DIIs) purchased ₹3,036.68 crore worth of equities.

Globally, the stocks on Wall Street closed at record highs on Wednesday after the trade deal between the US and Vietnam. Though the S&P 500 and Nasdaq settled at record highs, the Dow Jones shied away from ending a little lower.

The S&P 500 rose 29.41 points, or 0.47%, to close at 6,227.42, and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 190.24 points, or 0.94%, to end at 20,393.13. The Dow slipped 10.52 points, or 0.02%, to settle at 44,484.42.

In Asia, most of the indices were trading with gains except for Hong Kong and Singapore on Thursday morning.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng was trading down 1.04% at the 23,968.70 level, while the Shanghai Composite was trading at the 3,457.36 level, rising 0.07%.

The Kospi in South Korea also experienced a decline of 0.82% to 3,100.64 levels. However, Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 was trading at 39,783.04 levels, advancing 0.05%, and Singapore’s Straits Times was trading down 0.12% at 4,005.89 levels.

As many as 2,550 stocks traded on the NSE during the early session, among which only 1,462 stocks were trading in the green, 1,019 in the red and 69 shares remained unchanged.

As many as 33 stocks hit their one-year high in the early trade, while 24 stocks touched their 52-week low.

Further, 58 stocks hit their upper circuits while 27 were seen in their lower circuits.

India VIX, the volatility gauge, was trading 1.46% lower at 12.26 levels.

Tata Steel was the top gainer, jumping 1.4%, followed by Asian Paints (1.32%), ONGC (1.27%), Mahindra & Mahindra (0.82%) and Hindalco Industries (0.65%) in the opening session.

On the other hand, Kotak Mahindra Bank took the lead among the loser’s pack, slipping 1.57%. Bajaj Finance (1.39%), SBI Life Insurance (-0.88%), Trent (0.77%) and HDFC Life Insurance (-0.77%).