Market Wrap, June 18: NIFTY50, SENSEX close in the red; banking and auto stocks top gainers

Indian equity benchmarks ended in negative territory on Wednesday as traders remained cautious following intensified missile attacks between Iran and Israel. After a slightly negative start, the indices soon turned green, but failed to hold the gains. In the mid-market session, the market slipped into the red and remained lower till the end, as traders remained cautious ahead of the U.S. Fed's interest-rate decision.

Global front: European markets were trading mostly in green on Wednesday as UK consumer price inflation softened in May. Asian markets ended mixed on Wednesday, as Japan posted a merchandise trade deficit of 637.6 billion yen in May. That exceeded expectations for a shortfall of 893.0 billion yen following the upwardly revised 115.6-billion-yen deficit in April (originally 115.8 billion yen).

The SENSEX ended at 81444.66, down by 138.64 points or 0.17% after trading in a range of 81237.01 and 81858.97. 10 stocks were advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices ended in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.34%, while Small cap index was down by 0.34%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Consumer Durables up by 0.75%, Consumer Discretionary up by 0.38%, Auto up by 0.37% and Bankex up by 0.03%, while IT down by 0.76%, Utilities down by 0.75%, Power down by 0.67%, Basic Materials down by 0.66%, Metal down by 0.65% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The NIFTY50 ended at 24812.05, down by 41.35 points or 0.17% after trading in a range of 24750.45 and 24947.55. 14 stocks were advancing against 36 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Indusind Bank up by 4.63%, Titan Company up by 2.15%, Trent up by 1.93%, Maruti Suzuki up by 1.21% and Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.13%. On the flip side, TCS down by 1.82%, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone down by 1.57%, JSW Steel down by 1.37%, Nestle down by 1.35% and Hindustan Unilever down by 1.34% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading mostly in green; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 16.56 points or 0.19% to 8,850.59 and France’s CAC rose 10.44 points or 0.14% to 7,694.17, while Germany’s DAX lost 8.96 points or 0.04% to 23,425.69.