SENSEX, NIFTY rangebound; M&M, HDFC Bank gain, Infosys, TCS fall

The Indian equity benchmarks were trading in a narrow range on Thursday, June 19, ahead of weekly expiry of NIFTY50 futures and option contracts on the back of weak global cues. The SENSEX was trading in a band of 266 points and NIFTY50 index touched an intraday high of 24,825 and low of 24,738 as gains in HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, Titan and Larsen & Toubro were offset with losses in Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Tech Mahindra and Adani Ports.

As of 9:29 am, the SENSEX was up 7 points at 81,451 and NIFTY50 index advanced 5 points to 24,817.

Global markets

Most of the Asian markets were trading lower after Federal Reserve kept its key rate unchanged as it waits for additional information on how tariffs and other potential disruptions will affect the economy this year.

Japan's Nikkei fell 0.75%, China's Shanghai Composite declined 0.4%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.73% and South Korea's KOSPI fell 0.5%.

Fed's pause

The Fed’s policymakers signalled they still expect to cut rates twice this year, even as they also project that President Donald Trump’s import duties will push inflation higher. They also expect growth to slow and unemployment to edge up, according to their latest quarterly projections released Wednesday.

Fed policymakers had cut their rate three times late last year but have since been on hold. Inflation has cooled steadily since January, but Fed Chair Jerome Powell said at a news conference that tariffs are likely to reverse that progress and push inflation higher in the coming months. The Fed expects the bump to inflation will be temporary, but they want to see more data to be sure, news agency AP reported.

Sectoral landscape

Nine of 15 major sector gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange were trading higher led by NIFTY Auto index's 0.6% gain. NIFTY Bank, Financial Services, FMCG, Private Bank, Realty and Consumer Durables indices also rose between 0.15%-0.5%.

On the other hand, IT, pharma, metal, PSU bank and oil & gas shares were facing selling pressure.

Broader markets were trading on a subdued note as NIFTY Midcap 100 index fell 0.1% and NIFTY Smallcap 100 index advanced 0.2%.

Stocks in action

Shares of Tata Communications were in the spotlight on Thursday, June 19, as the stock was trading ex-dividend today. The company had announced a dividend of ₹25 per share, along with its Q4 FY25 results announcement. The record date for the corporate action is also today.

The stock was trading 1.76% lower at ₹1,670.25 on the BSE in the early trade. On the NSE, shares were trading 1.66% lower at ₹1,671.50 apiece.

Shares of Siemens Energy India, the demerged entity from Siemens Ltd., opened for trading at ₹2,850 on the BSE. On the National Stock Exchange, Siemens Energy India shares started trading at ₹2,840.

NIFTY50 gainers and losers

Eicher Motors was top gainer in the NIFTY50 index, the stock rose 1.24% to ₹5,460. Wipro, Titan, Grasim Industries, Tata Communications, Apollo Hospitals and Tata Motors were also among the gainers.

On the flipside, Tech Mahindra, Adani Ports, Infosys, IndusInd Bank, Power Grid, Tata Steel, TCS and Hindalco were among the losers.

The overall market breadth was positive as 1,797 shares were advancing while 1,200 were declining on the BSE.